The Blacks Vow
by S.S.AERIAL
Summary: In another life, Sirius Black hated anything that had to do with his family. That is, until his brother came into the picture. A rippling effect has unfolded, and the future has been altered. "And Regulus?" Death questioned. "Will he succumb to darkness this time around?" AU
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Harry Potter.**

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**Summary: **In another life, Sirius Black hated anything that had to do with his family. That is, until his brother came into the picture. A rippling effect has unfolded, and the future has been altered. "And Regulus?" Death questioned. "Will he succumb to darkness this time around?" AU

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**Note: **Aerial here. For those of you who have read this story from **S. S. BIRD**, I am the same author. There was some error on the computer that has made me unable to use that account, so I made a new one in order to continue writing. I apologize for those who've already read this to the inconvenience, but I will be posting up this story again since it's too good to pass up with a few changes. Also, don't expect me to update this quickly since I am busy with other ideas and fics that I'm currently writing.

**Thank you. And I hope you'll enjoy reading this.**

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**Prologue: Alternate**

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The deceptively innocent looking little girl sighed. She rocked her feet back and forth as she looked at the scene of Voldemort dead and Harry Potter triumphing over his victory.

She yawned.

Tragic, just typically tragic. The homicidal idiot of a dark lord was an incredibly pitiful figure as he laid eagle spread on the ground.

She hummed as she jumped down toward the body, sliding down the air currents from the invisible surface of the sky where she had been comfortably sitting for the last hour or so, waiting till all the humans were in the great castle of Hogwarts.

They couldn't see her of course, but she preferred doing her job in solitude. Though she was used to it, it was always weird for people to walk through her. Hell, she's the reason why people feel a shiver up their spines when their impending doom comes near.

She snorted.

Superstitious bastards, the whole lot of them. Ironically, wizards were the worst of that bunch.

Her feet patted the ground lightly before she walked over to the pale body. She leans over the recent corpse with nonchalance, taking note of the hideously slit nose and eyes that resembled a snake. She sneered. The human (arguable) had caused her much trouble, splitting his soul like that. A stupid move, since he had reserved a place in the Oblivion the moment he did, which was not even comparable to Hell. Nothing was worse than emptiness. At least with torture, you feel something.

Suddenly, she felt a presence that immediately put her on edge. She bit back a curse. What in seven hells was _he _doing here? She didn't turn and tried to relax her stiffen shoulders, even though she knew it was pointless.

"Well well well. If it isn't Miss Death. I didn't expect to see you here." the person behind her exclaimed, voice drawling. She gritted her teeth. She managed to compose herself before finally turning, glaring as she did so.

"Like hell you didn't." she said coldly. "What the hell are you doing here Time?"

The man smirked, looking very dangerous when he did. He was the definition of what people would describe "tall, dark, and handsome." His black and white suit and tie along with his black top hat only added to his looks, cigarette hanging between two fingers.

"Oh don't be that way. It isn't my fault you're a terrible gambler."

"You cheated you bastard and we both know it." she refuted furiously. "Damn it Time, you're not supposed to be here. This is my domain! Mine!" she stomped her foot to put emphasis on her words, making her look every bit like a petulant child on a tantrum.

"Yes, of course your majesty." he beguiled, having the nerve to even tip his hat. She huffed at the cheeky gesture, making the man grin. "I've heard you have another Death Seeker now. The kid seems like a decent bloke. Lot better than that Dumbledore fellow anyway."

"True." she reluctantly agreed. "The old coot was as manipulative as you from what I can see. And it would be nice to be able to talk to a human who doesn't do that blasted eye twinkling thing the old man was fond of. Though neither of them are as bad as you."

"Oh please. As if anyone can match up to my skills in the art of manipulation." he dismissed. His silver eyes glinted sharply as his countenance turned serious. "All kidding aside though, I didn't come here for games this time. I came here on the behalf of the King."

The reaction was instantaneous as an intense expression overtook the girl's childish features, making her look very old and weary. "What happened?" she demanded. Time sighed and put the cigarette in his mouth, inhaling the nicotine and breathing out calmly before giving his answer.

"He's not pleased." he said gravely. "Apparently, he's having some trouble with two souls."

"Are their souls cracked?"

Time's mouth twisted into a grimace.

"No. They're... shattered."

Death closed her eyes. "... Are they important?"

"Well, Fate is currently bitching herself out right now so yeah. Definitely important."

Death took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. "Who are they?" she queried.

"The Black brothers."

Her eyes snapped open as she stared at the deity incredulously, as if he had declared his desire to be a tutu wearing ballerina. She groaned and squatted down, resting her whole body on her legs, not caring she was acting how she looked.

_Of course _it was them. Bloody wizards.

"Are you fudging kidding me?" she wailed. She whipped her head around to give the stink eye to the standing man. "But Sirius was able to come out of the resurrection stone and talk to Pott- Oh." dawning comprehension lit her face up. "But it was only part of his soul that went to Potter. The rest is still beyond the veil, right?"

Time nodded.

"Bingo. As for the younger one, his soul is currently trapped at the lake. His soul is literally torn to shreds and is currently swimming with the inferi, who just so happens to be able to touch us since they're... well, dead." he finished lamely. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. "If nothing is done soon, we're screwed. They both, directly and indirectly, have a strong influence on Harry Potter, mister 'Chosen One', and that is big. The very fabrics of time is being bended with their souls howling like dogs. They have to pass on, the King demands it."

"Well," Death said slowly, seeing the rising agitation from the other deity. "Why don't we just start over?"

Time paused and stared at the still crouching girl.

"Explain."

She shifted her feet.

"Go back in time and prevent them from dying the way they did. Change the course of history into something different." as the words sunk in, a smile gradually began to take form, razor sharp and calculative.

"A gamble then." he mused. "A risky one at that."

He didn't sound the least bit disappointed. Seeing that he was interested in the proposition, she stood up and stretched her arms into the sky, her cloak sleeves slipping at the action.

"Well, now that you know what you have to do, I'm just going to go now. Since you're going to change things, it's not like taking Riddle's soul will have any point to it. Hell, Riddle might actually win."

"Doubt it. He's a mad man, nothing more to it. He'll definitely lose."

"And Regulus?" Death questioned. "Will he succumb to darkness this time around?"

Time smirks.

"Only one way to find out."

And so begins this story, the pages ripped out as new entries are written.

Let the game begin.

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**Chapter 1: Shift**

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Time lit his smoke as he stood in front of Grimmauld 12. His casual pose was betrayed by the way his sharp eyes blindsided everything except for the house.

He was on a mission. A mission that was going to save him from a major headache.

He reached into his pocket and extracted a silver pocket watch out, an intricate design of a single, flourishing tree that had many branches reaching out etched in. He clicked it open to reveal the most complicated watch no mortal could ever describe. Shapes of all sizes of hands were ticking away, the gadget so complex that only he would understand what it would say.

The only thing a person could really manage to make out were a few lines of texts on the surface.

_June 3, 1965 (evening)_

_Grimmauld 12, London_

_House of the Blacks_

He clicked the watch closed and smiled.

Time to get to work.

**-A-**

Unbeknownst to the deity's intention to interfere with his life, six year old Sirius Black fidgeted in his seat, uncomfortable in his formal attire and stiff neck collar of his black robes. He tried as much as possible not to though. If there was one thing he has learned in his short life, was that Walburga Black did not tolerate little boys who did not do what their mothers told them to. That was the one thing he was determined to get right.

He sat among his family and relatives at the dining table, chandelier hanging and glittering, wine glasses and expensive china laid out on the table with food that would make mouths water. He glanced around, seeing the Malfoys conversing in a hushed manner, Lucius sitting among them and hanging on to the adults' every word. Though he was only three years Sirius's senior, the young Malfoy acted as if he was already a duke, his dignified and haughty manner very much like the rest of his pureblood family. To be honest, he never really understood why bloodlines were so important, but never questioned it. He knew better than to ask for trouble.

As conversations went on, somebody began to tug on to his pants. Sirius glanced around to make sure no one was watching before trying as discreetly as possible to see what it was. Blue eyes met grey as his cousin Narcissa looked up at him underneath the dining table. How she got there, Sirius didn't know. What he did know was that what she was doing was very very bad.

"Cissy!" he hissed out quietly. "What are you doing? You're going to get in trouble!" she pouted at him, blonde hair falling onto her face.

"No I'm not! Can you play now?" she asked innocently. Sirius hesitated. Seeing the reluctance on his face, the girl pouted and fearlessly crawled out of her hiding spot, despite Sirius's protests. Her wriggling bumped the table, drawing attention from all the adults.

The boy squirmed at the assessing way they looked at him, as if he was a flesh of meat and they were the pack of wolves ready to devour him.

The girl didn't register or didn't care about the scrutinizing eyes and simply popped up before pointing at him. "Mummy, is it okay if Siri can play with me?"

Druella, Narcissa's mother, thinned her lips before glancing at Walburga. She looked to her daughter again and smiled. "Well, that would depend on Mistress Black." Sirius looked to his mother to see her staring at him, eyes piercing. She had a smile on her face that didn't reach her eyes. Sirius doesn't think he has ever seen his mother truly smile before, seeing how she is always sneering at him.

"Sirius? Is there something you want to ask me?" Walburga questioned, tone overly concerned. It rang false. His father stood behind her, his composure stony as he stared down at his child.

The raven haired boy gulped.

His mother had always scared him. With her tall height and aristocratic beauty, she was an intimidating figure to the boy. He didn't look away though, knowing he would be called weak if he did. The Black family did not tolerate people who couldn't handle themselves.

"Narcisssa was asking me to play with her. May I, mother?" he braced himself for rejection, but was pleasantly surprised when his mother merely waved a disinterested hand in his direction.

"Since you are a nuisance here anyway, fine. Now leave." she ordered imperiously. He barely paid attention to it and gave a quick but low bow, unable to believe his luck. With a squeal, the blonde girl grabbed on to his hand the moment permission was granted and darted out of the room, dragging him along with her.

She pulled him for a while before going into what was one of the many unoccupied rooms in the Grimmauld 12 Place. The room was a bit dim and dusty from disuse, furniture stacked against each other against the wall with tapestry blanketing them.

The occupants who were the sisters of Narcissa all turned to see who entered, both having different reactions. Bellatrix wrinkled her little nose while Andromeda gave him a warm smile and greeted him.

"Hello cousin." Andromeda said cheerfully. Sirius grinned at her. Out of all his cousins, he has always liked the middle child best. Though she looked like a younger version of Bellatrix, the maternal air around her even at the age of six instantly set him at ease. The oldest scowled at him, obviously displeased to be so quickly overlooked.

"Sirius." she spat out the name like a curse.

"Bella." he responded back, much more neutrally. As much as he didn't like her spoilt attitude, she was still family to him. Besides, she was the same age as Lucius and a girl to boot. It would be a waste of time arguing with her. He glanced around, feeling a bit awkward now that the confrontation was over. "So, is there anything to do?"

It seemed like the wrong thing to say when he saw Bella, Cissy, and even Andromeda slump their shoulders. Cissy sniffed. "No. And I'm so booored. Why do you think I brought you here? You can make a game for us!" her depression had evaporated as she said those words, staring at him as if he was her knight in shining armor. "Bella makes really scary games, and Andy's boring."

"Gee, thanks." Andromeda muttered, causing Sirius to snicker. The blonde ignored her and stared imploringly at the boy. "Can you please make a game up? Please?" with the thin veil of liquid over her eyes and the quivering of her lips, Sirius immediately knew if he didn't, an all out cry fest would ensue. He crouched down on one knee and smiled at her, hoping against hope she wouldn't bawl her eyes out.

"Of course." he reassured. He internally sighed in relief when the near tears were immediately gone. It would've been near impossible to escape the next dinner party if she had cried, since he would probably get the blame for it.

Bellatrix huffed and crossed her arms, her tense shoulders loosening when she realized that her sister was not going to scream like a banshee. She grudgingly jerked her head to Sirius. "So, what game? It better be good."

Sirius frowned at the girl's rudeness, but chose to ignore it as he thoughtfully mulled over the question.

"How about tag? We could play in the back yard outside so we don't break anything." he offered. Bella muttered, "How boring." under her breath while Andy and Cissy shared a beaming look at him. Andy nodded. "Sounds good." she agreed.

Now that a decision had been made, the four children marched out of the room, the eldest reluctant, and continued down the hall to the back door, passing by room after room in the process. While they were walking, a nagging feeling began to take root in Sirius's mind, as if he's forgotten something important. He involuntarily frowned at the feeling, losing his attention to where he was going as the others went ahead of him, not knowing he was lagging behind. One second the three girls were in front of him, then the next moment they were gone.

Sirius blinked and glanced around, noticing he was alone now. For a second, he worried that they would get lost before dismissing it. The sisters have been the Grimmauld enough times to know where to go. He looked around again, realizing he was close to the living room, which was just right next to the back door. Just when he was about to go, the nagging feeling came back, tugging him to where the living room was.

Without thinking, he went in the room.

He was met with dark green walls and expensive armchairs, the type his father always liked to sit on. The room was one of the biggest rooms in the house, including the dining area and his parents' master bedroom. The old but well kept fireplace wasn't lit, the Persian carpet free from dust and soot, courtesy of Kreacher. He ignored his surroundings however and was surprised to see he wasn't alone.

A small boy sat on one of the armchairs, his little legs dangling as a huge tome rested on his lap heavily. His black hair was hanging as he leaned over the words, mouth moving soundlessly as he did. Sirius stared at him.

Regulus. His younger brother.

He cocked his head.

To be truthful, he didn't really know his brother. He rarely interacted with the younger Black, and had no desire to. He knew in his mother's eyes, he was the disappointment in the family, though he didn't know the exact reason why. In his childish mind, it was because he was a bad boy, which was part of the reason he tried so hard to please her and try not to anger her. Regulus, on the other hand, was the 'perfect son', the one who couldn't fail. His mother had made that quite clear when she had screamed at his face, demanding why he couldn't be more like Regulus.

Despite this though, Sirius never really resented the younger boy. In a world where it was black and white, the Black family was the definition of the grey area. To some degree, Sirius knew having too much attention directed at yourself in a family like his was not good. He sometimes had caught his mother slapping her younger son and telling him he had to carry on the pride of the Blacks along with Sirius, a heavy burden to a five year old.

In another life, the clawing feeling of being alone had gnawed on his mind, making him crave attention from his parents, even though he knew it would never happen. Resentment for the perfect son who became who his parents wanted him to be had overridden the pity he had felt, hatred growing till it became permanent. Now though, this Sirius was free from such thoughts at his young age, bitterness not taking over his soul just yet.

So at that moment, when he watched the boy he called brother turning the pages quietly, his small figure engulfed by the big room, he felt a heaviness in his chest that made his whole frame sag. The boy just looked so... lonely.

At the thought, everything clicked and the nagging feeling disappeared. Nodding to himself, the black haired boy strode over to the hunching form until he was right in front of him, determination fueling him as he did.

Regulus glanced at him before suddenly snapping his head up again, eyes wide with alarm. Sirius didn't know whether to be amused or dejected at the reaction.

He smiled at his younger brother, not wanting to scare him.

"Regulus." he greeted. The smaller boy stared at him wearily for a second before his expression smoothed over.

"Brother." he greeted back curtly.

Sirius internally winced at the response but didn't let his hurt show at his coldness. Though he said brother, Sirius felt like the boy was treating him like a stranger. An awkward silence stretched as both brothers were not sure what to say to each other. Sirius couldn't remember the last time he ever had a conversation with him.

He felt his stomach clench. By god, wasn't that just _sad_.

"So, what are you reading?" again, the guarded look came back on, as if he expected to be jumped.

"The family bloodlines. Mother wants me to memorize everything."

Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Ah, I see." he recalled their mother doing the same to him. It was punishment for spilling juice on the table at dinner that one time. His mother had yelled at him for an hour before forcing him to clean up the mess instead of Kreacher, shoving the same tome to his chest and ordering him to memorize every word. Sirius half wondered what his brother did that warranted the same punishment. "So, did you get to Grandfather Phineas yet?"

He would've leaned over himself to see, but he didn't want to make the boy uncomfortable any further. It wouldn't be good if he scared off his one chance to maybe bond with his brother.

Regulus looked startled at the question. Clearly he didn't expect to talk with him further. "... No, not yet."

Sirius hummed.

"When do you have to get all this memorized?" he asked curiously. The younger boy looked more flummoxed at every question, not looking so cold as before.

"By Monday." Sirius gaped at him.

"What!? But that's only three days away!" he exclaimed. Even he had been given at least a week when he was given the task.

Regulus shrugged, not looking as bothered by the prospect.

"Yes, well, mother said to, so I have to." Sirius was surprised by the low undertone of unhappiness in his voice. He had always thought that out of the two of them, Regulus was the one who adored their mother. Clearly, he was wrong.

He frowned and saw that the younger boy was only one fourth done into the book. If there was one thing he did know about his brother, was that he was a perfectionist. Just one look in Regulus's room proved his neat and strict behavior. Due to this, it was safe to say that he probably had memorized everything up to this point in the book.

"Want me to help you?" he asked, surprising himself by his own quick decision.

Regulus's eyes widened, looking completely stricken. For the first time during the whole time he had been talking to him, Regulus really did look like he was five years old at that moment.

"Why?" the boy blurted out in shock. Sirius steadily stared at him and felt incredibly sad that his own flesh and blood had to ask such a question. He rested a hand on the chair's arm, a bit nervous. He hoped the other boy would hear the sincerity in what he was about to say next.

"Because you're my brother."

It was such a simple yet true response that it left Regulus speechless. Never had either of them openly said it in such a manner. Such acknowledgment was never spoken, since both had thought they were all only related by blood, and simply had to tolerate each other. The fact Sirius was willingly crossing over that line was a move neither of them had expected.

It was that moment when the timeline shifted, for both could never go back, not after such a ringing declaration that sent a ripple of change to the future. And a ripple will only grow bigger as time goes on.

The significance passed over the brothers as both only thought of this as a bold statement from a six year old boy to his year young brother.

Oh, if they only knew.

Regulus blinked and cleared his hoarse throat, trying to avoid the warm look directed at him. He looked down at the tome on his lap and fingered the pages unconsciously.

"... How?" he asked hesitantly. Sirius brightened at the fact he wasn't immediately rejected and carefully sat on the armchair to look over Regulus's shoulder, making sure not to touch him. He was sure the younger boy wouldn't like it if he did.

"I can test you. And explain it to you since I've already memorized this. Is that okay?" he was a bit worried on how he was supposed to act.

He could've imagined it, but Sirius could've sworn he saw the end of Regulus's mouth twitch up. Regulus nodded mutely. Sirius grinned.

"Great! Well, let's see. We can start with great great aunt Delphinus. Did you know that her name means dolphin...?"

For hours, Sirius ranted on about the Black family's bloodline, trying to make it as interesting yet informative as possible. At first, it felt awkward to talk while the other was clearly not going to comment at all. After a few pages though, he really got into it as his natural ability to tell stories came into play. It was part of the reason why Cissy absolutely loved him. His fun yet intelligent nature made it so easy for people to be at ease with him.

Eventually, the air of tension around the younger boy lessened as he listened intently to his older brother's stories, eyes gleaming like the child he was. Hours passed without them noticing as both enjoyed the pleasant company of each other.

Just when they were two thirds done with the book, the living room door slammed open, startling them both. Three girls stormed up to him, all looking quite angry. Their abrupt entrance reminded Sirius immediately what he had been doing before meeting Regulus, causing him to groan.

Oh, he was in for it.

He completely missed the younger boy's raised eyebrow at his action.

Bellatrix, with her lips thinned and her pretty face red, looked like an exact replica of a demon reincarnated. Andromeda was much the same except to a lesser degree, evidently more relieved looking then angry. Sirius felt a pang of guilt at that. He felt worse when he saw Cissy's eyes red from crying.

He stood up from where he had been sitting, wincing a bit when he felt his numb buttocks. Time really did fly. He looked at his cousins and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh, I'm sorry?" he said nervously. His apology immediately set the sisters off as exclamations and shouts flew out of their mouths.

"_Sorry? _That's all you can say? You're such a twit!"

"You had us worried you idiot! Why didn't you follow us?"

"Siri, why is Reggie here?"

The last question threw the whole group off as all stares suddenly directed themselves to Regulus, instantly making the young boy fidget. Bella narrowed her eyes and took a threatening step forward.

"That _is _a good question. Why is perfect little Regulus here instead of at the party? I would think someone with such high prestige would be with his parents." the insult toward Sirius was obvious to all, making Sirius immediately bristle. It did, however, pique his own curiosity.

Why _was _Regulus here instead of with his parents? Now that he thought about it, he couldn't remember his brother ever not being at a meeting, in trouble or not. When he saw the hard look on the younger boy's face though, all thoughts of asking flew out the window.

He whirled to glare fiercely at Bella, causing her to stare at him in surprise. "Back off Bella. It's none of your business." If he had looked behind him, Sirius would've seen Regulus staring at him in astonishment at his act of defense. Andromeda, though, caught it. Her gaze quickly darted back and forth between the Black brothers, eyes thoughtful.

"Bella, I think we should leave." Bella looked to her younger sister skeptically. Andromeda sighed. "Mother and Father must be looking for us right now. The meeting's bound to have finished."

Both sisters did a stare down before Bella huffed.

"Fine." she turned to Narcissa and took her hand. "Let's go." she muttered. She managed to glare at Sirius on the way out while the two younger girls followed behind her, both bidding quiet good byes to him.

Silence drew out in the room, the easy atmosphere gone. Sirius ran a hand through his black locks and sighed.

"Well, Andromeda is right about one thing. Mother is sure to be looking for us by now." he mused. He instinctively offered a hand to the still sitting boy, expecting him to grab on. When he didn't, he glanced at Regulus to see the boy just staring at his hand as if he wasn't really sure what to do with it. His hand faltered at the thought and right when he was about to lower it, his brother latched on, one hand still on the open pages of the book.

A tingling warmth went right through his whole body, a jolt in his heart.

'_His hand is pretty small.' _he absentmindedly thought.

With one hand occupied, Sirius managed to close the huge tome and grab on to it, heaving it against his chest. Regulus jumped down from his seat, still holding his hand, and straightened his robe to look more presentable. Without speaking, the brothers left the room as Sirius tugged him toward the hallway where the guests would be apparating out.

When they reached there, Regulus tugged his fingers off, sending him a quick, unreadable look. He gently pulled the book out of Sirius's grasps and walked toward their mother without looking back.

The warmth was still tingling Sirius's hand.

**-A-**

Time grinned as he watched the scene unfold.

"Hmm... That went better than I expected."

He congratulated himself at accomplishing his task. In truth, he hadn't expected his plan to work out so smoothly.

He felt Death next to him as she observed the scene as well. "You think the kid is going to break the bond?" she questioned. "Humans can be fickle."

He shook his head. "If there is one thing about Sirius Black that has not changed over the course of time, is his undying loyalty to those he deem as a friend." he smirked. "Just imagine how much things are going to change with his brother at his side now. The very aspect fascinates me."

Death rolled her eyes. "All right, enough of that. It's time we should be going. I'm going to have to recapture all the souls I have taken in this past life. And that bastard Voldemort is alive." she scowled. "This gamble better be worth it."

"You can't say that now. After all, this was your idea."

"Whatever." she grumbled. In the blink of an eye, she vanished out of sight.

Time chuckled and took one look back at the small figure of Sirius Black. "Good luck. Try not to die such a death a second time around."

On that note, he vanished as well. As if he had never been there at all.

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**I changed the ages to fit the story better. So cannon lovers, I apologize.**

**Sirius: 6**

**Regulus: 5**

**Lucius: 9**

**Bellatrix: 9**

**Narcissa: 5**

**Andromeda: 7**

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**Please review on the way out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own anything in Harry Potter.**

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**Note: **Aerial here. So, what do you think? It's been a really long time since I've even thought of this story with life getting in the way. And also, the deities that were featured in the prologue are actually very vital to another fic that I've been working on for a very _very_ long time. No, it's not Standing up, but something different.

Another thing is that the changes that are applied are minor from before. I hope you enjoy and please review!

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**Chapter 2: Brothers**

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It was barely noticeable, but the subtle change between the Black brothers relationship was becoming more apparent to Sirius.

As days passed, Sirius started to notice his brother in a way he hadn't before. He paid attention when Regulus was in his line of sight and began to subconsciously seek him out whenever he could, just to observe him. When he couldn't do either of this, his thoughts flitted over the younger boy's wellbeing, wondering at times what he was doing at the moment.

These thoughts were completely new to him and always made him pause in whatever he was doing when he caught himself thinking along those lines. It was confusing because he half wanted to dismiss the interaction with Regulus altogether, and half wanted to just go up to him and simply _talk_ with him. He had thoroughly enjoyed regaling Regulus with stories while sitting by him with an air of peace between them. More than anything, he wanted to get to know him.

And that wanting need _absolutely terrified_ him.

Regulus seemed to be just as unsure around him as he kept trying to leave the room every time he was in it. For some reason, Sirius always felt an annoying pang in his chest every time he did that, much to his frustration.

They had ignored each other their whole lives, and suddenly, that option wasn't possible anymore.

The tense discomfort was heavy to Sirius, and he wished fervently that it would dissipate soon. It had been so much easier when they had been indifferent to one another.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending how one looked at it, the silence didn't last for long.

After a week of not talking to each other, it was surprisingly Regulus who made the first move.

Sirius had been in his room sitting on his bed reading a book, when he heard feet shuffling toward his closed door. He quickly hid the book under his pillow right before the door opened, thinking it was his mother. He was completely caught off guard to see grey eyes peering at him through the crack of the open door instead.

Regulus shifted his feet at Sirius's staring and still stood awkwardly by the entrance. "Is it-Is it alright if I come in?" he asked self-consciously. The question snapped Sirius out of his stupor as he swallowed and gave an unconvincing smile.

"Uh, sure. Come in." he replied, head whirling as he tried to figure out a reason why his brother had come. Regulus hesitated for a second before he entered, cautiously stepping towards him as if approaching a sleeping dragon.

When Regulus stood right in front of him, a bit above eye level since he was still sitting down, he kept glancing away, eyes darting at anywhere but him. Sirius thinks he's never seen his usually composed brother so nervous in his life.

Minutes passed as the brothers didn't move or speak, both a bit lost on what to say. When the tense atmosphere finally got to him, Sirius decided to take the initiative.

"So, why are you here?" he didn't mean to sound rude, but it really was strange for his brother to have visited him. He doesn't think his brother had ever voluntarily come to him, other than to deliver messages from mother. And that was with a closed door between them.

The question seemed to make the younger boy squirm even further before he finally spoke. "I wanted to say thank you," he admitted. "for helping me."

"Thank me?" Sirius couldn't help but blurt out.

Regulus nodded.

"Yes. I doubt I could've memorized everything so quickly. You were... very helpful."

To say Sirius was surprised was an understatement. Perfect son Regulus admitting he couldn't do something? This was the last thing he expected.

He ignored the warmth he felt at the words and wanted to prod Regulus to know his intentions but stayed silent. This was probably not easy for the younger boy.

He swallowed.

"Well, thank you. And you're welcome." He added.

Regulus nodded again and turned, looking like he was just about to leave when he paused, his gaze landing on Sirius's pillow. His brows furrowed and he turned to look at him with questioning eyes.

"Why do you have a book under your pillow?"

Sirius snapped his head toward the object and wanted to curse with his limited vocabulary on swear words when he saw a corner of the book not hidden. He wanted to lie or tell him it was none of his business, but one look at Regulus's curious expression made him deflate.

With a sigh, he took the book under the pillow out and held it out to Regulus for him to see. The younger boy raised an eyebrow at the title before recognition glinted knowingly in his young eyes.

"This is a muggles book." He pointed out. Sirius nodded.

"It's called _A Wrinkle in Time_. I managed to buy it from a second hand bookshop in Diagon Alley with my pocket money." he snorted. "I swear, one can find anything in that maze of a marketplace."

When he had first bought the book, he had been confused by some of the muggle terms it had used, making it somewhat difficult to read. Sirius had been persistent though, and had bought a muggles dictionary in the wizarding version, quickly memorizing many of the definitions and words that were frequently used. It had taken a long time, but had been totally worth it in the end.

If Sirius didn't know any better, he would've thought he saw a gleam of interest in his younger brother's eyes as he looked at the book.

"What's it about?" Regulus asked neutrally. Sirius blinked.

"Are you interested?"

Regulus shook his head. "No, just... curious."

Sirius couldn't help but smile at the blatant lie, but didn't comment any further on it. "It's a fiction story about what muggles think about time travel. It's really interesting to see their point of view on the issue when they don't have any idea it's already possible with magic, limited as it is."

Regulus nodded, the interest on his face rising. Sirius wondered if his younger brother knew how easy he was to read at that moment. After a split second decision, Sirius gently poked the book on to the boy's shoulder, making him frown. Sirius grinned.

"Do you want to read it?"

His head moved to look at him so fast, that Sirius worried for a moment that he might've snapped his neck. Regulus blinked, looking stunned.

"B-But it's yours!" the poor boy stuttered. Sirius slightly snickered at the hitch, causing the boy to scowl. He waved a hand in a dismissive manner.

"It's fine. I already have another book I could read, so don't worry." He said assuredly.

Okay, he was lying. But how could he turn down that look of longing on his little brother's face? It would be just cruel of him if he didn't. And it was entirely worth seeing the younger boy's face lighten up when he said this.

Carefully, the younger brother took the book from his hand, brushing the cover as he stared at the title with some excitement. Sirius was almost sure that the book would be read cover to cover soon, given by the impatient twitch of the other boy's fingers. The sight made Sirius's grin soften. He never knew his brother would be the type who would want to read a muggles book. Maybe he wasn't a puppet to the Blacks after all.

Sirius let Regulus admire the book for a moment before he finally cleared his throat, catching the younger boy's attention. "Well, I don't think I need to tell you that you can't let anyone know you have that, especially mother." he shivered at the very thought and could vividly imagine her face twisting as she screams. "So make sure to hide it and be careful. You know how Kreacher can get sometimes."

"Kreacher isn't that bad."

"Not as bad as mother, true." he agreed. "But he can be pretty nosy sometimes. Just a warning."

Regulus nodded. He turned around, deftly hiding the small book under his shirt, and turned to leave. He stopped at the entrance and glanced at Sirius at the corner of his eye.

"Thank you brother. I'll... enjoy it thoroughly." with that, he left.

Sirius stared at the open door for a few seconds before sighing and flopping himself on the bed on his back. He grinned manically at the ceiling, feeling light.

This change may not be so bad.

**-A-**

Life went on as usual. His mother still lectured him on how all mudbloods deserved to die and that Voldemort was doing the wizarding world a 'favor' by starting this pureblood riot.

Sirius didn't even try to point out how many wizards have also been killed, pureblood or not. It would only instigate more yelling.

His father seemed to be gone most of the times due to business, and his cousins haven't visited since the last dinner party. He felt a little lonely because of it, since they were the only kids his age that he could ever interact with. Heaven forbid he goes outside and befriend the muggle neighbors.

The only highlight these days was the growing bond he had with his brother.

After the 'book incident', as Sirius dubbed it, they became much closer than before.

Much to Sirius's amusement, after only one week did Regulus come back to his room to give the book back. _After _he read and reread it again.

Sirius had asked his opinion on it, and was given a full out analysis from the younger boy on how 'fascinating muggle thinking was', which earned a hearty laugh from himself. Things took off from there as they discussed the story and the characters, pointing out flaws and the connections in the plot. It was the most fun he had in a long time and he had been incredibly thrilled. Judging from the small smile on Regulus's face, the younger boy had thought so too.

Unlike his cousins, they never would've been able to talk like this, or even have the ability to discuss ideas like he did with the younger boy. In many ways, though Regulus was second to youngest next to Narcissa, he was a lot more intelligent than any of the sisters. And they never would have the gall to read muggle books and history.

After the first book, a system formed for the brothers. Sirius would find a new book at the bookstore when he could and smuggle muggle novels like Harriet Tubman in the Underground Railroad. (Regulus had joked on the similarity after reading a muggles history textbook Sirius bought at one point. It was a pain to hide, but was worth it.)

Sirius was now the proud collector of _Alice's Adventure in Wonderland__,__ A Christmas Carol__,_and_ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea_. And those were only the books he bought in two months.

Regulus, he discovered, was very different from what Sirius had perceived him. He had a surprising dry wit and was much more mature than most kids his age. Once the awkwardness went away, his brother had no qualms when it came to bantering with him. Sirius usually made fun of Regulus's perfectionist attitude while Regulus made fun of his tendency to jump at things without thinking.

That trait came up when Kreacher, a stray cat, and a muggle's water hose got involved one time. Needless to say, he knew after that he was never going to live it down. Regulus continually reminded him of it many times, eyes twinkling in mirth as he did.

If it weren't for the fact he was his brother, Sirius definitely would have socked him every time he brought it up.

Months passed by quickly as the brothers became almost inseparable during that time. More books, more conversations, and more of everything that they had missed for five years happened, making Sirius happier than he had been in his short life.

All in all, life was definitely looking up.

**-A-**

It was eight months after the brothers had formed their new found relationship when their mother decided to bring both brothers to Diagon Alley.

The two of them were understandably excited, seeing how they saw this as a chance to get more books. And maybe find a shrinkable chest if possible. The books that were hiding under the floorboards in Sirius's room was slowly running out of room. Besides, it would make things easier for hiding things away from prying eyes.

So on that Saturday afternoon, the two travelled to Diagon Alley via by floo and immediately separated when they got there. Their routine setup was to have Sirius run off and quickly buy a book, while Regulus stayed with his mother in order to keep her company and devoid her of suspicion. She didn't really care when Sirius ran off, but that wasn't the case for her 'sweet, precious son.'

Every time she said that, Sirius wanted to demand why she would yell and hit him then if he was so 'precious.'

So as planned, Sirius bee lined toward the bookstore and nearly tripped a couple of times due to his hurriedness. By the time he reached the establishment, his seven year old body was wheezing, his cheeks flushed.

He welcomed the savoring warmth. It was in the beginning of February and sweating was better than freezing in his opinion. After regaining his wits a bit, he finally went in the store, looking forward to the prospect of a new book.

The place didn't look impressive on the outside, as it was a rather small, out of the way place that not many people went to. The place had almost every fiction and nonfiction book one could imagine, though most of them were muggle reading material, which suited the Blacks just fine.

The place was very cozy and warm, instantly making Sirius feel stuffy as his coat and scarf suddenly became very sweltering. He loosened his scarf a bit and nodded at the owner, Jeff, in greeting.

After visiting more than a few times at the store, the man recognized him and grunted, still reading the Daily Prophet in one hand.

Shaking his head, Sirius darted toward the shelves and started to scan the titles.

His way of choosing books was unorthodox to say the least. He usually just picked a random book that sounded interesting to him before reading the back then buying it. It was all fair game to him.

He had an interest in everything, especially history, while his brother loved fictional stories of adventure and mystery. It was somewhat endearing to see Regulus's face turn luminous whenever he brought a book that was especially of his liking.

Any book was fine though. After being deprived of having anything to truly call their own, they literally followed, 'beggars can't be choosers' to heart.

So it only took him a second to find a travel book on London that instantly held his attention. Without hesitation, he snatched the thin book out and held it in one hand. Satisfied, he began to walk toward the fiction section, wondering if there was anything good.

His gaze wandered over the hard cover objects for a minute without really knowing what to look for, before he felt a hand gently tap his shoulder from behind.

Thinking it was his mother who had caught him, he spun around to face the person with dread, almost dropping his book in the process.

Only, it wasn't his mother who was staring back at him.

Startled brown eyes met his, her hand still hanging in the air.

She was a woman who looked around in her early thirties, wavy black hair and gaunt pale face making her look somewhat like a ghost. She looked like someone who had once been beautiful in her youth, her brown eyes like chocolate.

She looked back at him a bit warily now, giving him a cautious smile. "I apologize for touching you without your consent. I didn't mean to scare you."

As the realization he wasn't in danger caught up to him, he shook his head at her in response. "Oh, it's fine ma'am. I didn't know you were there."

She smiled.

"Such a polite boy. You remind me of my son." she said fondly, causing Sirius to blush. She glanced at his book and raised an eyebrow.

"My my. Your book looks quite interesting." she commented. Sirius sensed her genuine tone and nodded.

"I'm buying it for my brother."

"Ah." her smile turned wistful. "I have an only child. He's about your age actually." she tilted her head curiously. "Do you come here often?"

"Do you?" he questioned back at the suspicious question. He knew it sounded rude, but he didn't survive in the Blacks house without some preservation skills. Her face took a bitter note.

"No, actually. I don't come to Diagon Alley often." she admitted. She smiled again, though it looked a bit strained now. "Actually, the reason why I bothered you was to ask what sort of book you were looking for. Maybe I can help?"

"Oh!" he said in surprise, both at her offer and at the change of subject. "You really don't have to."

Her brown eyes, which were her best feature in Sirius's opinion, twinkled at his words.

"I quite insist." before he could argue further, she walked to stand right next to him as she leaned forward to look more closely at the book titles. After a moment or so, her face brightened up, making her gauntness soften just a bit. She pulled out a worn out looking book and handed it to him.

"Here you go." she said happily. "It seems to be an old copy, but it's one of my favorites."

Sirius looked at the title and raised an eyebrow.

"_The Poems of Emily Dickinson_." he read out loud. He gave her a questioning look.

She nodded. "It's a collection of poems written by Emily Dickinson, a famous poet. She is a woman who has been through much in her life, something you can tell in her writing."

Sirius looked thoughtfully at the book. He was only seven years old and has never been interested in poetry before. He saw the almost bitter look on the woman's face, as if remembering something unpleasant.

Well, that settled it.

"I'll buy it." he said resolutely. Without looking at her, he marched up to the counter with two books and counted his money to pay. If he had turned around, he would've seen the soft smile on the strange woman's face, looking a tad bit touched by his gesture.

When he was done paying, he slyly put both books in his brown, beat up bag, carefully zipping it completely closed. He turned to the woman and smiled.

"Thank you for your help. I really appreciated it."

She waved a hand off at him.

"It was no trouble at all. I enjoyed talking to you." her sincere tone made Sirius grin. Without thinking, he raised up a hand in front of her, surprising her.

"Sirius Black."

She smiled and took his hand before shaking it slowly.

"Eileen." she offered shortly, letting go.

He took a step back and turned, aware of how late he was to meet up with Regulus. Still, he couldn't help but glance behind and wave.

She waved back.

**-A-**

"What took you so long?" Regulus demanded the moment Sirius found him, huffing and puffing with his legs sore.

They were both standing in front of Amanuensis Quills, one brother tired while the other was just a bit ticked off.

"Was held up with something." he grinned and winked at his annoyed younger brother. "Don't worry, I got good ones this time."

"You better have." Regulus muttered. "I had to be herded by mother to Flourish and Blotts so she could meet some of her 'friends.'" he said darkly. "Luckily, she's out talking with them, so she won't be here for a while."

Sirius frowned. One of the only reasons why his mother took them to Diagon Alley was to show them off to demonstrate the Blacks social status. Sirius, in his mother's eyes, wasn't worth the time or day. Regulus, on the other hand, had potential. For what, Sirius didn't know.

He laid a hand on Regulus's shoulder, patting it in comfort. He knew how much Regulus hated being put in the spotlight. His reserved personality liked peace and privacy, something that Sirius respected.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Sirius bumped shoulders with his younger brother and gave a half smile.

"You still want to buy that chest? We got some time before the wicked witch of the west gets here, right?"

"Sirius!" Regulus swatted his arm and tried to look mad but was failing miserably. "She's our mother!"

"Doesn't change what's true."

"You're really reading too many of those muggle books."

"Pot calls kettle." he shot back.

Regulus paused.

"Fair point." he admits. He looks at the watch on his wrist. "We better run now if we want to buy it."

Sirius nodded. "Let's go then. Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment is just up on left. Passed it while I was running here."

Without preamble, the older Black grabbed on to his brother's hand before pulling him behind him. Over the months, Sirius had developed the habit of holding the younger boy's hand. He didn't know why he did it, nor what the significance was, so he just went along with his urges. And Regulus never seemed to mind whenever he did.

**-A-**

"You're still reading that?"

Sirius glanced up at his brother and raised an eyebrow.

"I like the book."

His brother gave him a flat look.

"You've been reading that book for the fifth time. I counted."

Sirius rolled his eyes.

"I thank you for paying so much attention to me. It sends a warm feeling in my chest-"

"Oh shut up."

Sirius smirked and looked down at the worn out book again, engrossed by the words. It was true when Regulus had said it was his fifth time. He just couldn't stop reading the poem book for the life of him.

Emily Dickinson, he had decided when he had read the first few poems, was now his favorite poet.

Well, he's never read any other poetry other than her work, so his opinion might be a little biased.

Her simple and concise wording was like a knife, cutting to the point without consideration for the reader. He absolutely loved that. After being lied and manipulated to for so long, her words were refreshingly honest and straightforward. It took very little to know what she was talking about, yet the deeper meaning always struck a chord for the young boy.

Eileen had been right when she said the poet's been through a lot. He could almost _hear _the despair in her written voice.

Speaking of Eileen...

His thoughts wondered over the strange helpful woman, questioning why she did what she did in the first place. Not many would have taken their time to help someone, not unless they were whether extremely kind, or just know another's pain.

He knew that latter feeling very well.

He had briefly wondered for a time if he would ever meet her again and had immediately dismissed it. Chances of that happening were one in a million, especially with his sheltered lifestyle.

"Brother, take a look at this."

Sirius glanced toward Regulus, who was staring intently at his book while lying on his stomach on the floor. His legs were dangling in the air and his elbows were holding up his head.

It had been three weeks since they went to Diagon Alley, as they had busied themselves with the activities their mother gave them, mostly studying dark magic and attending lectures from her personally. It had been incredibly boring, the new books their only saving grace from the drawling weeks.

The older Black raised an eyebrow. Seeing that Regulus wasn't going to come to him, Sirius crouched down on the wooden floor, leaving his open book on the bed, and leaned over to see what Regulus was looking at.

"What is it?"

Regulus pointed at a muggles map, a glint in his grey eyes.

"According to here, there are all kinds of places muggles visit to, especially if they're from out of the country. Buckingham palace, Tower of London, Benjamin Franklin's House," he grinned. "I bet you would love that."

It was true. Ever since he got the muggles textbook, he's been pooling over history books like a hungry man dying from thirst, drinking in the words with fervor. It was just amazing to him how similar muggles and wizards were, and how the two different communities handled matters in such different yet similar ways, considering the advantages each had.

Biographies about great, nonmagical men who did so much left him with a fierce admiration for them. Benjamin Franklin was only one of the many.

Sirius grinned back. "It would be fun." he admitted. "Could you imagine going up to the Big Ben and ringing the bell?"

Regulus snorted.

"Only you would think such things." he said dryly.

Sirius laughed. He then noticed the frown that shadowed Regulus's face when he did and instantly turned concerned.

"What's the matter?"

Regulus sighed. "It's too bad we can't go though. Mother would never let us." the look of disappointment on the younger boy's face made Sirius's heart sink. He never liked when his brother went into his depressive moods. It's been happening less frequently lately, but it still occurred when their mother was involved.

He gritted his teeth, feeling more than a bit helpless. He didn't like how his mother controlled the both of them, as if they were puppets who had to do her every bidding. He felt like a pawn, and hated that his brother had to feel the same way.

Suddenly, inspiration hit him like a lightning bolt.

His brother turned to look at him, feeling the change of emotion from him, and raised an eyebrow. Spotting the look, Sirius smiled in a secretive manner.

"What if we just go?"

Regulus blinked.

And promptly dropped his jaw.

"_What?_" he exclaimed in shock, something that didn't happen often. "Are you _mad_? We would get caught!"

"I'm not saying _right now _of course, but someday. Just you and me." he smirked and jerked a thumb in the direction under his bed. "It's not like we can't pack our stuff and go."

When the boys had found the shop, it hadn't taken too long to find the right trunk.

They had ended up asking the manager for advice, and picked an oak made trunk that had three separate compartments that resized itself to become bigger every time more was put into it. Two of the compartments would separate the books they had to their own tastes, while the third, they both agreed, could be for other forbidden activities their mother wouldn't like.

What made it even more convenient, of course, was the fact it could shrink without the use of magic and was light weight due to magic, whether it was big or not. One just had to speak a password in order for it to happen.

The chest had been a bit expensive, forcing Sirius and Regulus to use most of their pocket money, but its value far exceeded its cost. There are hundreds of ways they could get away with stuff with it.

Like now.

Regulus eyed his brother skeptically.

"This is a ridiculous plan." he commented shortly. The excited sparkle in his eyes said otherwise.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! We could plan this out carefully. We just have to pick a day when mother and father are out. Patience is needed in this."

"Right, because that's your strong point." Regulus said in a sarcastic manner. Sirius shot him an annoyed look, earning a cheeky smirk.

"It might take a couple years, seeing how young we are now. People might get suspicious because of our age." Regulus pointed out. Sirius nodded.

"True. Before then though, we got to plan. It has to be perfect or else we'll get caught."

"And killed." Regulus added.

"And killed." Sirius repeated in agreement.

The younger boy smiled and looked down to his book. "Thank you." he said quietly. Sirius grinned and clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"What are brothers for?"

"Apparently to be a bad influence."

Sirius only laughed.

* * *

**If anyone had guessed who the woman was, please tell me by review. I have big plans for her.**

**Please review soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Harry Potter.**

* * *

**Note: **Aerial here. So! Lots of you got the identity of Eileen correct. And she will be playing a big part later on in the story, a supporting character that will make appearances in the future. Don't forget about her!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Protect**

* * *

Sirius froze at the doorway, heart stopping.

Now, he wasn't the type who was prone to panicking, but he was going pretty close to the breaking point at the scene he just caught.

In front of him was Kreacher, holding on to _Tales of Arabian Nights _with the floorboard open and the books displayed. Sirius seriously was regretting hiding some of his favorite books in the old hiding place, since it was more convenient to reach.

The house elf slowly turned to look at him, his bulging eyes popping out more than usual.

"_What _is _this_?" he hissed, waving the book with barely two fingers, as if holding a disgusting slug. Sirius winced at the cracking voice. It always sounded as if the elf's throat was dry. He swallowed.

"Kreacher, please." He couldn't say anymore. Didn't need to. It was obvious what the books signified.

Kreacher stomped his foot, his glare looking quite menacing from his small figure. "Master Sirius is reading Mudblood work. Master is betraying Mistress. Traitor and Mudblood lover!" he accused. He turned his head away from him, as if not daring himself to look at him. "Must tell Mistress Walburga. She will set him right…" he muttered.

Panic rose in Sirius. If his mother knew about his secret stash, he was going to be skinned alive. And knowing her, she would have a full check of his room if told, discovering the full trunk of forbidden books in the process.

He turned cold when a thought struck him.

He and Regulus, out of his own rebellious or reckless nature, he still didn't know, had their initials engraved on the lock of the trunk. It wouldn't take one plus one to figure out who R.B. was.

It was his own fault the engraving was there in the first place. It was due to his careless actions this situation was happening at all. There was no way he was going to get Regulus in trouble because of him.

Surprising even himself by his speed, he immediately went down on his knees to the house elf, bowing so low that his head hit the wooden floor. Kreacher's head snapped in his direction, forgetting completely not to look at him, and stared in shock. Sirius ignored it.

"Kreacher, I'm begging you. Please, _please _don't tell anyone."

If the Black had looked up, he would've seen the dumbfounded look on Kreacher's face, his floppy ears erect as they pointed to the ceiling, the book falling out of his grasp with a thump. In any other situation, the look would've been quite comical.

The elf swallowed. "W-W-What is Master doing?" he stuttered before getting his bearings. "Get up! This is a disgrace on all Blacks. Master cannot bow to Kreacher. It's not allowed!" he hissed.

"I'll only get up if you don't tell mother anything." Sirius knew the longer he stayed in this position, the more flustered the house elf would get. He felt bad for horrifying the old elf so much, but he didn't have a choice. He'd do whatever it took to protect his brother.

The elf hesitated for a few seconds before finally bobbing his head. "Alright, alright! Now get up before anyone sees!" he sounded incredibly terrified by the prospect.

Sirius sighed in relief and immediately got up again. He still stood crouched on one knee, looking at the elf at eye level. He couldn't help but grin, his relief palatable. The elf widened his eyes.

"Thank you Kreacher. You have no idea how grateful I am to you. Thank you." He breathed out.

The elf spluttered. "Master should not be thanking Kreacher. Kreacher made Master bow. Kreacher is a bad house elf."

"No you're not!" Sirius defended instantly, startling the elf by his boldness. "If you had told mother about the books, Regulus would've-" he stopped, paling at what he had just slipped out.

Kreacher narrowed his eyes. "Master Regulus? Why would Master Regulus...?"

"KREACHER!" a shout boomed from downstairs.

Sirius had never been so happy to hear his mother's voice in his life.

"_Kreacher_, get down here _this instant_! You have dinner to set!"

"Yes Mistress!" the house elf called out. He turned to eye the young Black, accusing suspicion in his large eyes. Without another word, he left the room, leaving a very anxious Black along with a cart full of books behind.

**-A-**

A few nerve wrecking weeks passed by with Sirius still feeling incredibly stupid.

He wanted to bang his head against the wall for slipping out his brother's involvement. Maybe even pull a Kreacher move and shut his ears in the oven, though it would be difficult since his ears weren't as big.

Kreacher himself was beginning to act differently towards him. He always seemed to be watching him, trying to catch his every move. It only got worse when Regulus was with him.

Sirius wanted to groan.

Unfortunately, he was not in the position to groan at the moment.

He slightly scowled and idly clanked his feet together, very much like Dorothy in the _Wizard of Oz_ when she had wanted to go home. He very much felt like the opposite right then.

Another dinner party was taking place as his parents greeted their guests, both brothers also present to do so as well. After half an hour, Sirius was ready to bolt at the drop of a hat, itching to leave and talk to the boy next to him.

He glanced to his left and saw Regulus resolutely standing still, the perfect image of an interested, polite boy. The facade was ruined from the discreet way the younger boy was tapping his foot, showing he was just as fed up as he was.

Sirius's lip quirked up, pride blooming in his chest. A little less than a year ago, he wouldn't have noticed that.

And just like less than a year ago, he felt someone grab on to him, tugging insistently.

Sirius looked to see Narcissa looking up at him, a bit older with her baby fat still present. "Siri! Why are you standing by the door with Reggie?"

Sirius had to hold back a snicker when he saw 'Reggie' narrow his eyes at the nickname, annoyance flashing before his impassive mask came up again.

He smiled and ruffled her hair fondly, causing her to glare at him in a cute manner. "Me and Reggie," he smirked when he practically _felt _his brother's glare. "are greeting the guests."

Narcissa wrinkled her nose. "But that's so boring!" she exclaimed. The older Black nodded gravely.

"Indeed. But somebody has to do it."

"But Auntie and Uncle Black are doing that!" she argued.

Sirius couldn't help but laugh. Even Regulus smiled at the 'Auntie' comment. It was just so weird to think of their aristocratic, cold mother as a doting aunt.

"Well, 'Auntie' is too busy to greet everyone on her own."

"Then I'll ask!" Narcissa declared. "Then it's okay, right?"

He pretended to ponder this. "You may be on to something Cissy. I never would've thought of that."

She huffed and puffed her chest out. "Well of course you wouldn't have. Andy always says boys are more stupid then girls." She sounded extremely proud of her gender.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. He and his cousin were going to have a long talk after this.

"Alright then. Off you go. We're counting on you!" he called out to her as she left, earning a tongue sticking out at him. Regulus chuckled at the childish action.

"Cute kid." Regulus commented. Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, she's always like that." his amusement wore off along with his grin. "I just hope she stays like that."

Regulus went quiet at this, something Sirius was grateful for. If there was one thing Regulus was good at, was being silent when needed.

He looked at his brother and furrowed his brows. Had Regulus ever been innocent like that? For the life of him, Sirius couldn't remember.

He smiled bitterly. Come to think of it, he couldn't even remember himself when he was free from burdens and expectations. It just went to show how much they didn't have control over their lives.

After a few moments of polite greetings and bowing, the entrance was empty with the guests inside. Sirius stretched his arms out to his sides, tilting his head back as a crack resounded from his spine. Regulus was much less dramatic and just rubbed the back of his neck, looking a bit cranky himself.

"Well, at least that's over." Sirius muttered. He looked at his brother and raised an eyebrow. "You're neck hurting?"

"You have no idea." was the younger boy's flat response. His eyes darted around as a frown marred his face. "Do you really think Narcissa went to ask?"

Sirius snorted. "Definitely. If there's something she wants, she gets it. She's spoiled that way."

"Spoilt what way?"

Both brothers simultaneously glanced toward the voice to see the middle child of the Black sisters staring at them with one delicate eyebrow quirked upward. Sirius grinned while Regulus went slightly red.

"Where batting your eyelashes or giving the puppy face is considered a lethal weapon." he said cheekily. Andromeda laughed.

"You wish you had that skill set." she shot back. Seeing how she wasn't offended, Regulus's mortification subsided as his unreadable mask was put up again.

He cleared his throat. "Did she ask?"

"She did." she smiled. "Got a yes."

Sirius whooped. "Next time all of you come over, I swear I'm going to give as much Chocolate Frogs I can buy."

"Cissy will hold you to that." Andromeda pointed out with a wicked smirk, which was eerily identical to her older sister's. She turned to the hallway on their right, away from where the guests were.

"Come on. They're probably waiting for us right now."

Sirius nodded. He moved his hand to move toward Regulus's but stopped. It would be a bad idea if anyone knew just how close Sirius had gotten with him. There were some things that Sirius wanted to keep private, and this matter was one of them. So with some disappointment, Sirius followed after his cousin, Regulus trailing behind him silently.

The silence worried him. The moment their cousin had shown up, the younger boy had clammed up, his neutral expression unchanging as they walked on. It was so different from the joking behavior they had both just exhibited moments ago. Sirius fervently hoped his brother's reserved behavior would be cured one day.

The three went to an unoccupied dining room that was smaller than the other dining room Walburga was using. He saw Narcissa was sitting on a long table while rocking her dangling feet back and forth, while Bellatrix was tapping her foot impatiently as her eyes burned holes to where they were standing.

She scowled. "About time you got here you mutt."

Sirius felt Regulus stiffen beside him at the tone. Shooting a reassuring look that made Regulus's tense shoulders minutely relax, he smiled politely to his cousin.

"Nice to see you as well my _dearest Trixy_." he said pleasantly.

Andromeda coughed to muffle her laughter while her lips twitched like crazy in a losing attempt not to crack. Narcissa outright giggled, falling on to her back against the table.

Regulus looked amused.

Bella did not.

"Shut up." she snapped, eyes narrowed.

Andromeda, who had by that point calmed down, raised a hand in her sister's direction in a placating gesture. "All right, all right. That's enough." her face brightened. "Why don't we play tag again?"

"It rained yesterday, idiot." Bella hissed. "We'll slip and fall if we go outside."

Narcissa looked blankly at her. "Then we play tag inside." she said slowly as if talking to an infant.

While briefly snorting at this, Sirius thought this over. There really wasn't much they could do, and Sirius doubted that the sisters would be satisfied with staying in the library, quietly reading books the whole time like Regulus would. Also, he never really did get to play the particular game at the last dinner party.

Plus, he really wanted his brother to interact with others. He didn't want to have his brother isolated from family that he could befriend.

He nodded. "Fine. But we have to stay away from the China room. Mother would kill us if anything breaks."

"You mean you." Bella said snidely.

Sirius gave her a sharp look. "Fine. Me. Whether you like it or not, I'm now responsible for all of your actions. Anything that goes wrong will put a dent in the Blacks reputation to other pureblood wizards eyes. So please, be quiet."

His cold tone seemed to freeze Bella before she quickly recovered and gave a indignant huff. It was obvious though she was shaken up from the way he talked. "It's not like _I'm _the one who screw things up."

"Whatever you say _dearest Trixy._"

"Okay, that is enough." Andromeda finally butted in sternly. "We shouldn't be arguing like this." Seeing that she now had everyone's attention, she huffed. "Are we going to play or not?"

Sirius and Bella glared at each other before both looked away, grudgingly letting go of the argument. Narcissa, who had been watching a bit nervously the whole time, perked up at the action. She jumped off the table and immediately dashed out of the room with a gleeful grin. As she did, she tapped a startled Bella by the arm as she ran.

"Tag, you're it!" she shrieked back. Sirius laughed and ran off to, a smirking Regulus and an amused Andromeda flanking him.

Bella seethed.

Sisters.

God, how she hated them.

**-A-**

The game went on for half an hour before Sirius felt his lungs burning out, sweat on his forehead. He couldn't help but grin though, exhilaration pumping his veins. He hadn't had this much fun with his cousins in a long time, and he was enjoying every minute of it.

He took note of his surroundings as he ran, straining to find his brother and cousins. The game had evolved ten minutes ago when Bella had managed to get him, something she had no qualms gloating over when he chased after her with murder in mind.

Out of an eyeshot, he saw a person's leg at the end of the hallway before it turned. He didn't hesitate to dart after the person, determination fueling him.

After a lot of turns, he found that there was only one room in the dead end hallway, making him wickedly grin.

Gotcha.

He burst in the room and found himself face to face with Regulus, who froze when he found himself caught by Sirius. The expression made the older boy smirk as he casually closed the door behind him.

"Well well well, aren't you lucky." he nonchantly commented, circling around the table that was placed in the middle of the room, like a wolf hunting down his prey. Regulus followed his lead just as casually as he began to circle too, eyeing for an opening.

"I prefer the term coincidence."

Sirius grinned at the response.

Without another word, the older brother bolted toward Regulus, the abrupt action met with readiness. The younger boy ran in the opposite direction, trying to reach the door, when something happened.

_CRASH!_

The two boys froze at the sound, a broken vase shattered to pieces on the floor. Sirius had seen that jar fall when Regulus had knocked it over while running, the vase toppling like a deck of cards.

Seconds passed when Bella slammed into the room, her sisters following. Her initial reaction was widening her eyes, until something else entered in her expression. Sirius felt his stomach sink when he saw the malicious intent. Before he could stop her, she turned and left the room, leaving the other children behind.

Andromeda cursed and turned to go after her older sister, leaving poor Narcissa at the scene. The little girl seemed terrified, for even she knew there was going to be repercussions, accident or not. Sirius turned to see Regulus who stood motionlessly as he stared at the broken glass. He glanced up, making Sirius involuntarily flinch at the utter stark terror that was facing him.

Walburga Black practically flew into the room, a hoard of curious guests behind her to see what has occurred. She was absolutely livid looking, her face white and her hands clenched together till Sirius was sure she broke skin. He tried not to tremble at the fury, for he knew it wouldn't do much good.

The aristocratic woman scanned the room before her gaze landed on the vase. Her lips pursed.

"Who did it?" she didn't bother to ask what happened. Sirius knew the only thing that mattered was someone needed to be punished.

Her breathing sped up. "Which one of you did it?"

Sirius saw Regulus, who had his mask on, looking secretly scared and angry at himself and-

He widened his gray eyes.

Was that _resignation _he was seeing?

Anger and sadness overwhelmed him. How _dare _she made his brother feel that way. No one should look so submissive to something as small as an accident. No one should treat someone like a criminal for a _broken vase _of all things.

That was when he knew what he had to do.

"I did it."

Regulus snapped his head to look at him, barely concealed shock on his face. Sirius ignored him. "It was my idea that we play tag, and I accidentally knocked over the vase while we were playing." he gave a low bow, swallowing down his pride in having to do this with so many witnesses present. "I apologize greatly for my carelessness, and take blame for everything."

A tense, deadening silence met his words. His mother's face closed off into a dispassion expression, something that was even more scary than seeing her furious.

"So," she said softly. "This was your doing then?"

"Yes ma'am." he responded, feeling his nerves fry more. It was like the calm before the storm, without him knowing when it was going to hit.

Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Stand in front of me boy."

He blinked, confused. He had expected her to tell him to clean up the mess, or maybe even fix it without magic or something. Still, he did what he was told, not sure what to brace himself for.

She smiled coldly, freezing him. Without warning, she raised her wand and pointed at him.

"_Crucio!_" she shouted.

The moment the red light hit him, immeasurable pain burned him till he felt that he was on fire, agonizing to a fault. It was like a thousand knives were stabbing him everywhere, his eyes watering from the pain. He bit down his tongue till it started to bleed to prevent himself from screaming.

He didn't notice when he fell to the ground gasping, and could barely make out Andromeda's grimace and Narcissa's frantically worried face. He looked behind them and saw Bella smirking at him with her arms crossed, loving every minute of him writhing on the floor.

He thinks he's never hated someone so much in his life.

After what felt like a millennia has passed, the backstabbing pain stopped. His muscles couldn't stop quaking, but he managed to stand, his legs trembling. He would not let anyone see him as weak. He jutted out his chin and looked at the crowd, daring them to say anything.

Nobody did.

Walburga snarled, apparently not happy he was still able to stand, and jabbed a finger out of the room.

"Go to your room. You will not get supper tonight."

He nodded at the order, causing a sharp ache to the back of his neck. He pushed through the crowd that parted for him, and soundlessly left.

Before he did, though, he saw his younger brother stare at him with guilt and worry raging in his grey eyes, the only indication that he cared.

To Sirius, that was more than enough.

**-A-**

It took a lot of effort climbing the stairs, a fact that irritated Sirius greatly.

Every time he had lifted his leg, it screamed at him not to bother as it burned from the straining of the muscles. It was aggravating and a bit pathetic in his opinion for a simple task to become so arduous. It was only because of his stubbornness that he made it to his room at all.

When he reached there, he painstakingly went to his bed and felt himself slip into unconsciousness the moment his head hit the pillow.

Waking up was torture.

When he opened his eyes, every part of his body throbbed as if bruised. He didn't know how much time passed, though from the absent sound of people talking downstairs, he guessed that the party was over.

He sat up slowly, feeling his body protest, and glanced at the window. He was startled to see it was already night time. Around the middle of the night even, from what he could tell.

He rubbed his eyes and sighed, feeling tired.

Just when he felt like collapsing again, he heard a soft knock on his door, so quiet that only he could hear it. For a moment, he feared that his mother came back to punish him more, until his rational side pointed out that his mother would never be so quiet if that were the case.

So with effort, he slowly got off his bed and cautiously went to door.

When he opened it, he wasn't too surprised to see Regulus, who had a stoic expression on. What he _was _surprised about was the house elf trailing behind his brother, clearly looking like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"Regulus?" he whispered. His brother gave a brief nod.

"Sirius." his rigid tone made Sirius falter for a moment.

What in Merlin?

"Uh, please. Come in." Sirius said awkwardly, not really sure what else to say. Both went in at the permission, one more reluctant than the other. Sirius was sure having both in his room was the strangest sight he's ever seen.

One was his brother, obviously tense and uncomfortable for some reason. The other was the Black family house elf, who he had been avoiding for weeks and was now brought by his brother of all people. If the latter situation wasn't ironic, he didn't know what was.

He winced as he walked toward his bed and sat down again. He motioned for his brother to sit down next to him, and was confused by how the younger boy almost hesitated before he did. Kreacher stood in front of him, staring unabashed at him as if he was some kind freak show he couldn't look away from.

He fidgeted at the silence and turned to his brother. He noticed how his brother was sitting as far away from him as possible. His face was tight and his back was like a pole.

Sirius didn't know what was going on. Why was his brother acting like this? It was almost as if he-

Sirius's trail of thoughts stopped.

That _idiot_.

Without warning, he grabbed on to his brother's arm, startling both occupants in the room.

Kreacher bristled. "What is Master Sirius doing-"

"Shut up Kreacher." Sirius interrupted him coldly. He was too angry to see the elf flinch at the command. He stared at his brother who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Sirius, what-" Regulus said bewildered. Sirius didn't let him finish.

"You are an idiot!" he hissed. "You are the biggest idiot on the planet!"

Regulus stared at him in shock. Never has Sirius ever been truly mad at him before. With the older boy's piercing eyes and clenching jaw, he looked even more intimidating than their mother.

"How _dare _you think what happened is your fault!"

Regulus blinked.

And blinked again.

"My fault?" he was absolutely incredulous. "Of _course _it's my fault! I was the one who knocked it over!"

"It was an accident though you twit!" Sirius snarled. "By Merlin! Out of the two of us, I thought _you _were supposed to be the smart one!"

"I got us in trouble for it!"

"Only because Bella tattled on us! If it was anyone else told mother, she definitely wouldn't have reacted the way she did, especially with guests present!"

"Well _you _got hurt!" Regulus furiously pointed out. "I never asked you to cover me!"

"Of course I would cover you! You're my little brother!"

The declaration made Regulus pause before he quietly talked again.

"Did it ever occur to you I was ready to be punished? You didn't have to do it."

Sirius scoffed. "_Ha!_ I know. It's the reason why I did it in the first place." his gaze bore at his brother intensely. "You shouldn't have been prepared to get punished for something that was clearly an accident. And..."

He turned away. "I don't want you to get hurt." he said softly.

Brief silence met his words before Regulus snorted. "Same here, you reckless fool."

Sirius's lip quirked up. "It wasn't reckless. I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Right. Just like everything else you do in life."

Sirius gave a half-hearted glare at the raven haired boy who simply quirked up and eyebrow, daring him to contradict him.

He didn't.

They both went quiet as they shared each other's presence, both glad that the argument was over.

Sirius looked to see Kreacher staring at them. There was no longer any disgust on his face. The elf looked contemplative, his big eyes darting back and forth at them. After a moment, an almost curious look crossed his face. Looking at the elf suddenly brought up the question why he was there in the first place.

"Why are you here Kreacher?" he asked, puzzled over the house elf's presence.

"Master Regulus was in the halls. Kreacher escorted Master Regulus to where he wanted to go."

If Sirius didn't know any better, he would've thought there was almost _something _other than disdain in the house elf's voice. He shook his head and smiled at the elf.

"Well, thank you Kreacher." he briefly worried over the possibility that Kreacher would tell his mother what had happened tonight, but thought better of it. The house elf didn't seem like he was going to tattle, so he gave him the benefit of doubt. Besides, Kreacher was rather fond of Regulus.

The house elf bowed and cracked out of existence. Sirius sighed and turned to his brother.

"Well, we better go to sleep now. Mother hates it when we're late."

"Oh," the boy looked startled by his words. "uh, alright." he didn't get off the bed immediately though. He hesitated for a moment, as if he wanted to say something. Sirius raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked.

Regulus swallowed. "Well, is it alright if I... stay here tonight?"

Sirius blinked. "You mean sleep with me?"

He nodded. "Yes. You don't have to though." he added quickly. "With the pain-"

"It's fine." Sirius smiled. "Of course you can sleep here." He was incredibly happy that his brother had asked. More and more, his younger brother was opening up to him.

It took little effort for both brothers to get under the covers, which was still warm from where Sirius had been lying earlier. Sirius tucked Regulus in, which earned an annoyed look much to his amusement. It took only minutes for them to be lulled to sleep, exhausted from the long day.

When morning came, two brothers laid on the bed, both with small smiles on their faces, like they didn't have a care in the world.

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**Please review on the way out.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything in Harry Potter.**

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**Note: **Wow, it's been a while since I've updated. Hope you like this.

And don't worry. I'm working on _Standing up_ right now, but it's slow going. I had no time to write during spring break and have caught a cold.

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**Chapter 4: Unexpected**

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Time passed by so quickly, that Sirius felt like he had only blinked when the clock had ticked away.

The incident at the dinner party wasn't the last time things got hairy for him and his brother. His mother somehow got even harsher, something Sirius hadn't thought was possible. She gave out crueler punishments when he was less than perfect, and favored Regulus as if he was made out of gold.

For that, Sirius was thankful. He's been taking the blame for much of the things Regulus has done by accident, to the point where his mother would blame him without reasoning or proof that he actually did it. It just made things easier for Sirius to protect Regulus from their mother.

He knew his brother didn't like it, but there wasn't a choice in the matter. Either one of them was given hell, or both would be subjugated to something close to a nightmare childhood.

He would never forgive himself if his little brother suffered. If his pain was the price, so be it.

The punishments his mother dished out were frequent curses that caused his bones to ache and his mind to throb in pain. Crucio was his mother's personal favorite. With the house veiled from outsiders, both by sight and spells, the ministry couldn't track down the Blacks' actions.

Sirius laughed bitterly at that. The one matter where he wanted the ministry to do their jobs, and they couldn't do it.

Typical.

Usually after the torture sessions, his brother would always sneak in his room in the middle of the night and sleep with him. Just having his brother near him calmed down his frazzled nerves and pain, letting him sleep in peace.

Days into weeks trickled by when Sirius asked his brother what he thought about of him. It was an impulsive question fueled by curiosity, something that had been nagging him for a while.

He knew he loved his brother. He knew that now, something that had pleasantly surprised him when the realization suddenly struck him the one time he had watched his brother read and relax. He knew what he felt, knew that he wanted to protect Regulus's innocence for as long as he could before the world could taint him like it did to him.

But for the life of him, he had no idea what his brother felt about Sirius himself.

So he had asked, and had been rewarded with an exasperated look that told him he was an idiot.

"You are my brother." Regulus had stated simply, as if this was obvious. Sirius's heart had tightened with those words for they were true. And solid truth was the best answer someone could give.

After that, he never asked again, the younger boy not mentioning it either.

Months has passed without him knowing. His relationship with his brother was relatively the same with the bond steadily growing stronger, while the books grew to a full on library, heaps crammed together in the deepening space of the magical trunk.

When a year went by, his father began to be absent for long periods of time, sometimes with his mother in tow. It gave a lot of breathing room for the pair of brothers since the trips could sometimes last for weeks, leaving them to their own devices. Sirius realized after reading the Daily Prophet that the trips probably involved Voldemort's movements. He wasn't going to let that stop him from taking advantage of the situation though.

Another fact dropped on him when he read the newspaper.

His parents being gone was the perfect time for his brother to leave on their trip. With this in mind, he had burst into his room, and had been surprised by the scene of his brother taking out the travel book from long ago, a gleam in his eyes.

"So, where do you think we should go?" his brother had asked.

He had only grinned in response and set to work.

The boys planned meticulously, supplies and destinations in mind as they scrawled out where they should stay and go. It left a nervous anticipation in their stomachs whenever their parents left, but they always held back.

"Too soon," his brother would say gravely. "We just have to wait."

After three months of waiting, they were finally able to leave.

**-A-**

Sirius glanced toward his brother and couldn't help but smile. His brother looked so excited, his grey eyes glinting with anticipation as they packed the trunk.

Their parents had just left yesterday, leaving them time to pack last night for their adventure. An unfurling feeling of happiness was growing in him, the same excitement his brother was feeling jumping up and down inside of him like an impatient child.

He and his brother had never ventured into the muggles world before. They never left the wizarding premises and to do so made every part of him both eager and full on terrified. The latter was definitely winning.

Seeing his brother this happy though thankfully dampened that feeling.

"So, we got everything?" he asked again. His brother rolled his eyes.

"Toiletries, travel books, clothes, and money. We're pretty much good to go."

Sirius nodded. Everything had been easy to pack, money being an issue at one point. Sirius had fortunately made a stop at Gringotts beforehand though, exchanging his and Regulus's money with muggle notes, leaving them with five hundred pounds. Even to him, that felt like enough for a few days.

"Okay then, let's go." he responded, picking up the light trunk and going down the stairs. They walked in silence, both not really sure what to say with this being so final, but ready all the same. By the time they reached down, they were greeted by big, bulging eyes that sent a piercing stare in their direction. Sirius felt a jolt of fear but shoved it down and coolly regarded the house elf.

Kreacher nodded at them. "Is masters going somewhere?"

Regulus shifted his feet. "Yes." Sirius was slightly impressed by how stable his tone was, not one crack on his mask. "We'll be away for a few days."

The house elf gave Sirius, not Regulus, an assessing stare. Sirius was sure that the elf was going to send them back to their rooms before he nodded again. "Very well. Masters be safe."

Regulus's jaw unhinged a bit at his compliance. Sirius wasn't sure what was shown on his own face, but it must've been amusing judging from the flash of humor that went off in the old elf's eyes.

"You-You're letting us go?" Sirius couldn't help say in disbelief.

To be truthful, he had expected the house elf to confront them, and had been fully prepared to order him not to stop them or tell their parents. For the usually stubborn elf to give in was flabbergasting. Sirius was almost tempted to check out the windows if hippogriffs were falling out of the sky at the moment to see if he was dreaming.

He glanced outside. Nope. Not a magical creature in sight.

Kreacher bobbed his head. "Masters want to leave. Masters are coming back, so Kreacher will let them." he even gave him a toothy grin at the astonished looks he was getting. "Kreacher will not tell Mistress and Master Black."

Sisrius swallowed hard by the, dare he say it, _respectful _tone the elf was using towards him. Now that he thought about it, something has changed over the year about the house elf. Ever since the vase breaking dinner party, Kreacher had become bewilderingly civil towards him. It was like Sirius has passed some sort of test with him, and now he was somehow in the elf's good books. It was incredibly weird, but the Black never questioned it. It was somewhat of a good thing, and he didn't want to ruin it.

So he took it in a stride. He grinned back at the elf, startling his brother, and actually stuck out his hand to him. "Thank you Kreacher. We really appreciate it."

Kreacher gave him a long look before he finally shook his hand. "You're welcome sir."

With their hands outstretched like this, though the elf was definitely shorter, the Black almost felt like they were equals.

He let go.

"Come on Regulus." Sirius nudged his brother. The younger Black blinked before shaking his head. The boys went out the door, closing it behind them with a click.

Sirius smiled. The very sound sent a satisfied feeling inside of him.

They walked down the pavement for a minute, Sirius feeling Regulus struggle to digest what had just occurred. The younger of the two kept glancing at his brother before sighing.

"What just happened back there?" he questioned. Sirius's mouth quirked up at that but he didn't look at his brother.

"Eh, we just get along better now, nothing for you to worry about." Sirius dismissed easily, finding humor in Regulus's visible exasperation.

"I'm already worrying." Regulus flatly stated. Seeing the amusement on Sirius's face, he sighed.

"Do I even _want _to know?"

Sirius only smirked in response.

**-A-**

It took them ten minutes to reach the roads outside of Grimmauld, cars and other vehicles Sirius has read about going back and forth on the street. The weather was cloudy and a bit cold, neutralized by the thick coats Sirius made sure he and his brother would wear.

The trunk had been resized and put into Sirius's pocket, since it would be a hassle to drag around all over London. Regulus carried the bag that held their basic provisions, light enough for it not to bother the younger boy.

Sirius quickly got over the novelty of what he was seeing outside Grimmauld before he waved a hand to a passing yellow car with a taxi sign on the top. The car luckily stopped at his hand, swerving to the curb where they were. The cabbie rolled down his window and gave them an appraising look. Sirius felt irked by the stare and immediately took some pounds out of his pocket before showing it to the driver.

"Will you take us to where we need to go?" he asked curtly. He remembered from a muggles book that taxis were supposed to be transporting vehicles that went wherever a person wanted them to if paid.

The book didn't, however, say that cabbies were grumpy brutes.

The man narrowed his eyes before nodding. "Get in." he barked out.

Sirius dropped the coins back in his pockets. The two boys quickly obeyed, opening the door and going in. It was cramped in the small vehicle, the smell of cigars instantly making Sirius wrinkle his nose. He wasn't surprised to see an ashtray at the front being completely full of snuffs. The man grunted and turned to look back at them, one hand on the wheel.

"So, where to lads?"

"Tower of London please." Sirius replied immediately.

The cabbie frowned, a little bit of concern on his pudgy face. "Your parents?"

"Waiting for us there. Promised to meet them." he lied smoothly. The man grunted, turned around, and started to drive.

Sirius couldn't help but look outside during the ride, marveling at the tall buildings and the busy people walking across. A few double decker buses passed by, reminding Sirius of the Knight Bus he's heard from Bella, who always bragged when she did something he didn't get to do.

He glanced at his brother and saw the wonder on his face, leaning so close to the window that his nose smudged the surface. He inwardly snickered at the childish display but didn't comment.

After about twenty minutes, the cabbie managed to get the car squeezed in to a tight space near the sidewalk, the Tower of London looking majestic even from the far distance. The man glanced behind expectantly with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, here's your stop. Stay safe mate." he grudgingly warned. The older Black had a feeling the man meant it, so he gave a polite nod and gave the man a fifty pound note, much to the man's confusion.

"Keep the change." Sirius called out. He didn't see the staggered expression on the man's face, his meek protests calling out to him.

"But-but-but..." the man blubbered, left in the dust by the eight year old boy with his brother.

Regulus looked behind him briefly. "I think you broke him."

Sirius shrugged. "He'll get over it."

Regulus sighed again when he saw the mischievous gleam in his brother's grey eyes. Of course.

The two strode toward to the historical tower, the sight taking Sirius's breathe away. It was _huge._ The tower was twelve acres big, dominating the land with the White Tower reaching the skies. The stone structure was a structure to be reckoned with. The very stories behind those walls made Sirius's pace go even quicker, his inner history geekness shining through.

Sirius caught Regulus smirking at him, obviously able to sense his eagerness. The older boy scowled a bit in embarrassment, slowing down his walk. Seeing how his brother wasn't going to let up, he fiercely glared at the boy, earning a wider smirk.

"What?" he snapped. His brother's smug expression was getting to him.

Regulus hummed. "Nothing. You're just such a history buff. It's funny."

"Shut up."

"Who knew an impatient guy like you could sit still enough to be interested in dead people."

"Hey," Sirius instantly turned defensive. "It's a lot more than that."

Regulus rolled his eyes at the fanatic gleam in his brother's eyes and elbowed him in the chest. He grinned at the grunt of displeasure from the action and strolled past him.

"Come on and stop dawdling. The line for the tour isn't getting any shorter."

Sirius huffed but followed after his brother anyway, rubbing his chest as he did. Regulus couldn't help but smile.

He loved being the younger brother.

**-A-**

The tour, if Sirius was to debrief it, was _annoying_.

They waited for an _hour_ just to get to the gate where they had to pay for tickets. It was a hassle to deal with the questioning looks people gave them, seeing how they didn't have a legal adult with them. Sirius had to use all his charisma to be able to pass, the female ticket attendant completely charmed.

It took all of Sirius's patience to _not_ stomp his brother's foot when he muttered womanizer under his breath.

When they entered the premises, Sirius was hooked. He drank in everything, from the stone walls that previously were meant to keep prisoners locked up, to the archways which shined due to the sun. The tour group passed countless, eloquent rooms that put the Blacks household embellishment into shame.

The place was endlessly _gigantic_. Sirius had the feeling that it would take more than a week for him to find every nook and cranny to the place. He glanced at his brother and saw his curiosity.

He grinned smugly.

Make that less than a week. With his brother, they definitely could cover more ground.

It wasn't any of this that made the tour dissatisfying. No, it was the irritating, perky woman who was _supposed_ to be the tour guide.

It didn't take very long for the Black to analyze the girl and deem her as an imbecile who really didn't know anything about history. After many rapid questioning that went back and forth between the pair of brothers, the girl looked ready to have a mental breakdown. It would've made him feel guilty...

... If she hadn't called him a smart aleck brat.

If the witnesses were to ever comment on what happened next, they would've said they seriously pitied the girl after the eight year old boy was finished with her.

All in all, Sirius pretty much took over the tour after that, more than a little bothered that he clearly wasn't going to learn anything new with the tour guide being an idiot. Said tour guide quietly followed the group without saying a word, knowing better than to argue anymore.

During the whole time, Regulus never stopped chortling, grey eyes glinting with hilarity.

The younger brother was thoroughly impressed by his brother's extensive knowledge of the tower. He even got the dates right when he explained the building's history, speaking in a condensed, straightforward manner that didn't leave confusion afterwards. He answered every question the group had, even quipping up jokes while he did.

He had the makings of a teacher, that was for certain.

This continued for a while, the group following the Black like a bunch of sheep to their shepherd. All the while, Sirius himself admired the tower as he explained to others why _they_ should also be amazed.

Sirius told facts like how the tower was never meant to be a prison until people realized the tower was good at keeping people _in_ as well as _out_. Or how the tower had received extensive damage during World War II due to bombing.

Regulus rolled his eyes when Sirius gleefully told the muggles group how twenty two executions took place at the tower, the last beheading in 1747. Muggles grimaced at the mental image while Sirius looked positively sadistic.

'_Of course he would remember something like that._' Regulus had thought dryly.

Hours passed by as the tour group wandered around the monumental Tower of London. They earned more than a few double takes at the sight of a boy leading the group, while the tour guide hung in the back, timidly following after. If Sirius had noticed the bizarre looks he was getting, he would've laughed at their faces for sure.

With closing time coming in soon, Sirius gave a bow to the group. Some people even clapped and thanked him for making the tour more interesting, something along the lines of, 'giving a tour of a lifetime.' Even the tour guide had admitted that he did a better job than her. She said it a bit reluctantly, but one could read the slight recognition from her compliment.

The glow of pride in his chest had him grinning fiercely the whole time till his mouth ached.

Regulus watched with amusement when a younger girl even kissed his brother on the cheek in gratitude. It made the older Black blush at the action.

Catching Regulus's teasing smile, he scowled. "Not one word Regulus."

"Of course." Regulus graciously agreed. There was always later.

The boys walked down the sidewalk away from the tower in companionable silence. It was getting close to evening, the sun setting slowly until it was an ethereal pink and orange. London was still busy even with night coming, muggles mingling around.

Sirius smiled, feeling more peaceful than he had in a long time. Today was the best day he ever had. He never felt freer, burdens lifted off his shoulders with the title of being a Black not mattering at the moment. He glanced at his brother and saw an identical look of happiness on his face. God how he wished they could do this whenever they wanted.

He shook his head at his morbid thoughts and rested a hand on his brother's shoulder to get his attention. "Come on. We better find a place to stay if we don't want to be stuck on the streets."

The younger brother nodded and both began their search.

It took less than half an hour after asking around to find a motel. The place was thankfully cheap, yet not sleazy like some places. The manager had looked suspicious at the guardianless boys but didn't argue when Sirius gave him a wad full of cash.

Their room only had one bed by choice, since it was cheaper to do so. The room was neat and not overly decorative, the lights and bathroom in working order. The hot water was a godsend to the brothers as both felt the effects after a long, tiring day slamming on to them hard. They took turns for modesty sake when taking a shower, both old enough to take care of themselves.

After getting out fresh and clean, they immediately started planning for tomorrow, both setting times to what sights they wanted to go to. They had their notes and travel book out, laid across the bed as both looked over it. It was fun, reminding Sirius of all the other times they did this at home, the opportunity to actually follow through their plans now present to them. They only planned to explore London for a week at most, five days being ideal.

There was no way they were going to risk getting caught. If Walburga found them, it was a sure bet they would die. It would be a shame, since they finally were living now.

By the time they wrapped up, it was nine thirty. The boys were tired to the bone and only took a few minutes to change into comfortable clothing and wash up before collapsing on the single bed. They instantly fell asleep on the covers, not even bothering to clean up the mess they left on the bed.

**-A-**

The next morning at eight, Regulus woke up.

It took him a couple of minutes to shake out of his lethargy, but once he did, he immediately shook his snoozing brother awake. It was more than a bit funny when Sirius rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head, moaning.

Regulus gave the older boy a petulant look before he promptly flipped the covers, causing Sirius to tumble off the bed with paper scattering everywhere. Regulus burst out laughing as his brother spluttered on the floor, now wide awake. He whipped his head to look at the laughing boy, homicidal intent obvious.

"_Regulus._" he said in a dangerous tone, at once snuffing out the annoying, boisterous sound, though he didn't stop snickering.

"Is there something the matter brother?" Regulus mocked. He regretted it the moment he did when he caught the razor sharp smile on Sirius's face.

"Ohhh. You asked for it!" and with that, he threw the fluffy pillow next to him at Regulus's face, making the younger boy yelp and fall. Sirius roared and was rewarded with the same pillow hitting back at him.

The rest, after that, was history.

Breathing hard after the arduous pillow fight that went on for ten minutes, Regulus smirked at his brother who laid right next to him on the bed.

"I won."

Sirius shook his head. "No, I did." he panted. "Anybody could see that."

"Right."

Sirius glared at the sarcastic tone but didn't say anything. It was a waste of breathe.

"So," Regulus sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "shouldn't we get going? We got a schedule to follow, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Regulus snorted at the dismissive response and got off the bed. Both got ready in minutes and decided to eat out since they doubted the room service was any good. Sirius left a tip on the now made bed and clean room for the house lady before leaving the room.

They wandered around a bit before finding a small breakfast place just ten minutes away. Having never eaten any cooking other than Kreacher's, Sirius ate a little of every dish he could finish.

The omelet and the juicy sausages were absolutely scrumptious in Sirius's mouth. He couldn't stop the groan of pleasure when the food hit his taste buds. Even Regulus seemed to love the food, though he didn't eat as ravenously as his brother.

After the quick breakfast – and Merlin it was quick with the way he shoveled it all down his throat – they quickly went over the schedule.

The first on their bucket list was the Buckingham Palace. The tour was starting at nine thirty, and would only be a couple hours long.

Sirius had always wondered how muggle royalty lived. After his experience with the Tower of London, he didn't think he could be more impressed.

When they took a cab again just to save time and arrived in front of the palace, Sirius almost had a heart attack.

Boy, was he wrong.

The whole building was intimidating, the statue of Queen Victoria looming over them. The bronze statue stood proud and tall with its wings stretched out on top of the white marble. It was stunning to say the least, much more imposing than the statue in the Ministry of Magic Sirius had seen once when he visited there with his father.

Unlike the incident with the Tower of London, the tour went on without a hitch. Room after splendid room exceeded Sirius's expectations. How in Merlin can _anyone _say muggles were primitive compared to wizards? Just look at what they could create _without_ magic.

He scoffed to himself. The wizarding community was so blind to what's right in front of them. It was mind boggling to think there was prejudice against muggles after looking at some of the nonmagical people's work.

The tour blurred past rapidly, much to Sirius's disappointment. It was noon by the time they were done, close to lunch time. The brothers ate crisps and fruits at a small restaurant, both not that hungry after eating such a big breakfast.

When they were done, they decided to walk to Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. Sirius knew it was a long way, but he wanted to just take a look around as they traveled.

Crowds of people surrounded them as they walked, all trying to reach their own destinations. It somehow made Sirius feel small, his brother's presence reassuring by his side. They passed Trafalgar Square as they plodded on and reached where they wanted to go in little less than an hour. With the weather cold, the walk certainly warmed them up, so the chilling breeze didn't bother them.

The globe was exactly what it was. A globe. Seats circled around the stage where hundreds could fit in. He could see the sky if he looked up, the open theatre showing off the cloudy weather. Sirius prayed that it wouldn't rain anytime soon.

He scanned the area and frowned. The place was a bit unconventional in his opinion. Why an open roof? It would only hinder the actors. And the wooden seats looked really uncomfortable without anything to cover them.

Sirius ruefully shook his head and smiled sardonically.

The reason why they came to the theatre was solely on a whim to be honest. Sirius had attempted to read Shakespeare once and had halted at the first few pages when he read. He did finish it in the end though and had concluded he didn't like Shakespeare's work _at all_. Romance was not his thing, and too much comedy made the book seem silly and a waste of time in his mind.

He also really _really_ didn't like how the characters were so easily manipulated and misunderstood. It happened so often that it was unrealistic to him. Surely people couldn't be _this_ _stupid_.

Or maybe they _were_ and that was the reason why the book bothered him so much.

Either way, there wasn't really much to do at the theatre other than to look around, so the brothers left shortly after their inspection.

They mostly wandered around after that, going from shop to shop aimlessly without losing each other. They tried out some chocolate from a sweet shop near the theatre, and even found a bookshop much to the boys' elation. They stayed there for hours end, not in a rush like their trips to Diagon Alley. In the end, they ended up buying a stack full of books, something that greatly pleased the owner of the shop. The day passed on and the boys were satisfied by the end of it.

Third day of exploring was to the London Library, one of the world's biggest lending libraries there is.

To the Black brothers, there was no denying they were in heaven.

Sirius was on cloud nine. The little bookshop they visited yesterday was a dingy cottage compared to this monstrosity. A sea of shelves were infinite to Sirius, subjects varying and unheard of genres existing in the magical reading castle. There were even _floors_ for Merlin's sake! To say Sirius was enchanted was the understatement of the century.

Needless to say, the Blacks spent the whole day there right until closing time, losing themselves in the written word. It was a mournful parting to both of them, though the resolve to go back later if they could momentarily pushed down the yearning they felt.

The fourth day was Sirius's day.

They got to visit Benjamin Franklin's house. Regulus didn't really see what the big deal was and was incredibly annoyed by his brother's impatient foot tapping while they were in line. He kept fidgeting and trying to look over people who were much taller than him, making him look like a bouncing boy on a sugar rush.

In Regulus's mind, the description wasn't that far off.

"Sirius, back down!" Regulus hissed out. Sirius wrangled his hands in a nervous gesture.

"We're actually here. _We're actually here!_"

"Yes, we get it." Regulus snarked. His older brother had been repeating those lines for the past twenty minutes and it was starting to get on Regulus's nerves. "Now stop _fanboying_ for Merlin's sake and _calm down._"

Sirius whirled to look at Regulus in horror. "How can my own flesh and blood say that to me? This is Benjamin Franklin we're talking about! The man is brilliant! He's a politician, inventor, writer, philosopher- heck, he's a _musician too_ for crying out loud!"

Regulus simply gave him a flat look that could rival Lucius Malfoy at the outburst. Sirius huffed and shifted his horrified expression into a grin.

"So, how was my performance? Does it beat Shakespeare?"

Regulus gave a long suffering sigh. "You're impossible."

"And that's why you love me." Sirius teased lightly.

"Was your agitation an act too?"

Sirius waved a hand. "Nah. I actually am kinda on my wits end."

Regulus already knew that. He had noticed when his brother was nervous or insecure, he always went back to joking around to ease the tension. So instead of lecturing him more on _not_ embarrassing them in public, Regulus simply pinched the bridge of his nose and twitched his eye.

"Just... Let's get through this without getting kicked out."

"Aye aye captain!" Sirius gave a mock salute with his two fingers and winked.

Regulus face palmed and groaned.

Ten minutes later, both got to the front of the line when one of the ticket guards quirked up an eyebrow when he saw them. The man's face was taut, sharp eyes glaring at them in a way that would intimidate most people.

Without hesitation, Sirius gave a winning smile and started to open up their money bag. "Hello good sir. Two tickets please."

The man narrowed his eyes, instantly causing Sirius to tense. "Where are your parents boy?" the deep baritone voice sounded like it was growling, making Sirius feel uneasy. He smiled to cover it up when his brother's shoulder stiffened at the tone, obviously sensing something was wrong.

"At home. They know we're here of course, if that's what you're worried about." Sirius drawled out. "So if you don't mind..." he gestured at the money in his hand.

The man ignored the action. "You can't come in without adult supervision. This is a historical place that does not welcome troublemakers."

Sirius wanted more than anything than to punch the man in the face but held back. "Well, since we're not troublemakers as you say, please allow us to pass." his polite tone was colder than before. "Unless you have a problem with paying visitors."

"I told you. _No_." the man enunciated the last word slowly, as if speaking to a toddler. Feeling his brother about to snap, Regulus cut in to the conversation.

"Sir, I understand your weariness, but I assure you we are not here to cause problems at all. Even if we were, there are tour guides here who will keep watch of us and can kick us out whenever they want. So please good sir, allow us to pass."

The man gave Regulus a long look before scowling. "Fine. But if I hear anything at all..."

"You won't." Regulus assured him.

Taking the money out of Sirius's hands, Regulus paid full price for the tickets and dove right in while pulling his still fuming brother. When they went far past the door, Regulus let go of his brother's hand and silently waited for his brother to cool off.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair in a frustrated manner before sighing. "Merlin, that guard was a bloody prick. Did you see how he almost threw us to the streets? That bloke is one son of a-"

"Sirius!" Regulus's sharp tone cut him off. "Calm down."

"It's therapeutic to vent." Sirius quipped. Seeing his brother's unamused expression, he groaned. "Okay okay. Just give me a minute."

Regulus did give him a minute before they both joined the tour group. Things went well after that, though Sirius couldn't completely revel in the experience due to his irritation.

Insufferable and annoying. By Morgana, how he wanted to throttle that muggle.

By the time the tour ended, Sirius had gotten over his previous annoyance but was still unhappy he didn't get to fully enjoy the tour. Regulus rolled his eyes at Sirius's sulking attitude and convinced him to get some grub. The meal did raise up the older Black's mood, making him forget all about the incident.

They went back to the motel by cab and started to pack up their bags. Tomorrow was the day they had to leave. The thought saddened the brothers, but also made them more determined to repeat their act of rebellion again someday. Getting everything ready, the brothers slept uneasily that night, not knowing that tomorrow was going to be very... different from what they would expect.

**-A-**

The next day, the brothers went to the London Library for the last time for a few hours, the idea of visiting once more too tempting to ignore. They even skipped lunch at noon in order to buy some more time.

Hours later, when Sirius checked the clock, he was dismayed at the fact it was four o'clock, far longer than they had planned to stay. Shaking Regulus from his dreamlike reading trance, the younger boy paled considerably when he too looked at the clock.

"Bloody hell." the boy cursed, an uncharacteristic action coming from the usually clean mouthed boy. "We're going to get skinned alive."

"Then we got to go. _Now_." Sirius hissed. It took less than a few seconds for the pair to dash out of the huge library, startling more than a few people as they passed. Sirius didn't think when he unhesitantly whistled loud and clear to the street with his fingers in his mouth. A cab miraculously appeared at the action.

Before Sirius could marvel at what he just did, Regulus grabbed on to his wrist and pulled him in. Tumbling in, Sirius nearly snarled out the word Islington to the cabbie.

The cabbie floored it and rode off, not asking questions, something Sirius was grateful for. Both exhausted from the run, Sirius was barely able to warn the cabbie to wake them up later before he knocked out completely.

It felt like minutes when Sirius felt someone poke him on the arm roughly, grunting they were here. Sirius woke up with bleary eyes and paid the driver the money before stumbling out of the car with his half-awake brother. The cabbie left, leaving them behind at an empty street.

Only, it _wasn't _their street.

As he began to take note of his surroundings, Sirius slowly felt dread eat him up little by little. He didn't recognize where they were. Since it was around seven o'clock, judging from what he could tell by the sun, Sirius could tell they were actually near a mill, something that _didn't exist_ in Islington.

He glanced up to see the street name above him, the sign saying '_Spinner's End_' in bold letters. He gulped.

Galloping gorgons.

_This was not good._

His brother moaned at that exact moment, snapping Sirius's panicking mind to his brother. He closed his eyes and breathed slowly to calm himself down. They were alone in the middle of nowhere with a near depleted amount of money and it was almost night time.

'_In another words, we're screwed._' he summarized, hating his intellectual mind for thinking that awful truth.

He looked at his brother again and steeled himself not to go into hysterics. His brother, though conked out right now, was counting on him. With that in mind, he picked up his brother and gave him a piggy back ride. He grunted at the sudden weight and began to walk down the street to find help.

While he did, he tried not to flinch at every odd sound that usually came out during the night. Grimacing at the near deserted street, he half wondered whether anyone lived here at all. Even though the night wasn't quiet due to animals and the wind, there was absolutely no sounds of civilization from what he could tell. He dearly hoped that wasn't the case.

He didn't know how long he walked, the sun dipping further and further down, when he saw a lone figure in the middle of the street up ahead. He couldn't make out if it was a man or a female, and hesitated to go any further.

If it was a man, there was a good chance getting sighted would be a bad idea. One could never know a grown man's intentions. A woman, on the other hand, gave Sirius a better chance if she took pity on them.

Trying not to lose the courage he had managed to gather, he finally shouted out toward the person. "HEY! YOU THERE!"

The sound made Regulus stir on his back, but he didn't wake up. Sirius was amazed the boy could sleep through any of this.

The person stood stock still at his voice before quickly starting to stride towards him. Sirius forced himself not to flee and glued his feet to the ground, trying to make out the gender. The closer the person got, it became obvious that the slight figure was a woman, unconsciously making him relax his tense shoulders. When she got even closer, Sirius had the dawning realization that he's seen this woman before.

"Eileen?" he blurted out in shock as she came into view. It _was _her! Her warm, brown eyes were unmistakable to Sirius, which were currently wide from astounded surprise.

"Sirius?" she sounded thoroughly bewildered, not that he blamed her. She was the last person he ever thought he would see. She looked weary, her grey, droopy clothing only adding to the affect.

"What are you doing here?" she frowned when she caught the sight of Regulus on his back. "Who's this?"

"Oh, uh," he chuckled a bit and shook his head. "it's a long story. This is my brother, Regulus."

Dawning realization shone on her face as she slowly nodded. "I see. Well, as I have asked before, what are you doing here?"

"Got lost." he answered truthfully. "We took a cab, but the guy must've misheard when I told him the street." he winced internally at the admittance. This whole situation was his fault, and he felt incredibly ashamed at the fact.

The woman smiled. "Everybody makes mistakes." she said. Her simple reassurance made Sirius feel warm inside oddly enough. He had no idea what to make out from the initial feeling and ignored it at the moment when he felt his brother's head slipping off his shoulder.

"Um," he cleared his throat and looked up anxiously. "I know this is going to sound rather abrupt, but my brother and I need some help."

"Do you want to contact your parents? There's a floo network in my house you could use-"

"NO!" Sirius yelped before he could stop himself. Seeing her startled expression, he winced. "No, uh, that would be a really bad idea. My parents would, well," he hesitated. "be really mad if they found out we left the house."

_That_ was really downplaying it. His mother would behead him and hang his head up like the house elves if she ever found out. Heck, she might just throw the head away because she wouldn't want to be reminded of him.

Floo network wouldn't work for their situation. There was a slight chance that his mother might check if the fireplace was recently used, and he wasn't risking it.

Eileen wrinkled her brows but didn't argue his point, something he was grateful for. "Well, why don't we go to my house at the moment? You don't look like you've eaten all day."

Sirius blinked. "How did you know that?" he asked curiously. She smiled and tapped her temple.

"Mother's intuition." she leaned to look behind him again. "Do you want me to carry him?"

He shook his head. "No, it's all right. I can take care of him."

Again, she didn't argue, and simply walked away from him while going down the street. Sirius followed after her slow pace, again grateful that she was so patient.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, both not really sure what to say. After all, they had only met once by chance, so it wasn't like they really knew each other. Not liking how uncomfortable the situation felt, he turned to look at her. "Would your family mind if we come? I wouldn't want to intrude."

The woman's face turned dark for a moment. "My husband is out of town and won't be back till morning." her expression softened considerably. "My son is at a friend's house."

Sirius noted how happy she sounded by that but didn't point it out.

The house they stopped at was an old house. It looked clean and well kept, yet Sirius couldn't help but shiver. The house felt so _lonely_ for some reason, as if the people who lived there were never loved. It made the Black both weary and intrigued at the same time.

Eileen climbed the steps toward the front and unlocked the door, swinging it open into blackness. She walked right in with Sirius trailing apprehensively after her, the creaking of the floorboards rattling his nerves.

Much to his relief, she turned on one of the lights by switching what Sirius knew to be a light switch. It lit up the hallway, which led to the kitchen. He glanced around and saw a case of swirling stairs leading up, and a coat hanger near the entrance. He looked away and followed Eileen in to the kitchen that was ahead of the hallway, watching his steps so he wouldn't step on anything that would creek. It would not be good if his brother woke up in a stranger's house with no clue why.

The kitchen was small, an elegant table right next to the counters. Sirius saw the living room was right next to the kitchen and gently putted down Regulus on to one of the couches. He took off his warm coat and laid it across his brother's small frame. It wouldn't do if the younger boy catches a cold.

He twisted to see Eileen setting up a pan, the fire blazing. After a moment, she cracked the eggs and started to scramble them, the contraption called a toaster humming as she did. She spun to look behind her and smiled assuredly. "Just cooking some food. You must be hungry."

Sirius felt a lump in his throat at the unexpected kindness and swallowed. "Thank you." he said quietly.

She simply shook her head and continued to cook.

It didn't take very long for her to be done, making two servings to include Regulus. The fact she made more for Regulus again threw him off. With the younger boy asleep, she didn't have to do that. He evaluated her thoughtfully and saw something that made him freeze.

Right on her thin neck was a jagged, white line, obviously an old scar. It looked like it had been a gruesome wound, something most wouldn't have survived from.

He kept his face carefully blank. He forced himself to calm down and started to scan the room.

On the mahogany table far from Regulus in the living room was a twelve pack beer. Only, it was all empty from what he could tell. The jagged line could only be from something sharp. Something like a broken bottle. Assessing the situation, it was clear to the eight year old that Eileen's husband was an alcoholic. And when there was an alcoholic...

He glanced at the oblivious, humming, bone like woman who was setting up the table.

There was abuse.

The thought made him want to throw up.

A part of him boiled with rage though at the high possibility. No wonder she looked so sad and worn out if she was subjugated to something so sickening. And she was so nice too, making the situation even worse.

He felt cold when another thought occurred to him. Did her son get abused too? Was that why he was away at a friend's house so late at night?

Eileen looked at him and smiled. "Food's ready. Go wake up your brother. I made enough food for the both of you."

Sirius managed to nod and mechanically shook his brother's shoulder. He was met with irritated, grey eyes, making him smile a bit.

"Regulus, there's food." was all he had to say before he heard the boy's stomach growl. He smirked at the sound, causing Regulus to scowl.

"Fine." he grumbled. He stood up and blinked rapidly for a moment before he froze. He slowly looked around before whipping his head around to look at his brother, glaring.

"Where are we?" he demanded. Sirius shrugged.

"Spinner's End apparently."

Regulus blinked owl like at him.

"Huh?"

At any other time, Sirius would've mocked Regulus endlessly at the stupefied look on his face. The revelation of Eileen being abused, however, kept him somber.

"The cab took us someplace else by mistake. He, uh, misheard me." he said the last part sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

Regulus gave him a flat look. "How can someone mistake Islington to Spinner's End?"

"No idea."

Regulus sighed. He surveyed the room and stopped when he saw Eileen. His body immediately froze before his eyes flashed toward Sirius, grey eyes questioning. Sirius smiled encouragingly which minutely loosened Regulus's tense shoulders. Turning back to Eileen, who had been watching the exchange with some fascination, he gave a short nod. "I apologize madam, but who are you?"

Sirius snorted. How typical of Regulus to be polite despite everything.

Eileen smiled and walked toward the weary younger boy. She didn't stand too close though, having enough sense not to make the younger Black more nervous. She stuck out a hand in front of him.

"Hello Regulus. I'm Eileen Snape." she said warmly.

Her introduction made Sirius raise his eyebrows.

Snape, huh? It didn't really fit her.

Regulus blinked with surprise before he smiled back politely and gave Sirius a pointed look, eyes piercing with an unhidden question. He sighed, knowing what was coming next.

"Yes, it's _the_ Eileen." he answered out loud. The woman cocked her head at the implication in his words.

"The Eileen?" she repeated.

Seeing her confusion, Regulus shook his head. "I am assuming you were the one who picked out the poem book for him?"

"Yes, why?" she suddenly frowned and looked at Sirius worriedly. "You didn't like it?"

His brother snorted. "On the contrary, he can't _stop_ reading it. I can't tell you how many times I've caught him with that book, reading it over and over again."

"Hey," Sirius warned. "there's some pretty good writing in there." he grinned at Eileen's astonished expression and winked. "Because of you, I've become a Dickenson fan. I even bought two more poem books on her, including a biography."

"He really like biographies." Regulus added. "Especially if it's unbiased."

"Well, a person's life can't be built on lies." Sirius shot back. "No matter how bad it is, it doesn't mean it's something to be ashamed of."

Sirius carefully watched Eileen's expression when he said those words. He knew the double meaning he implied there, and felt a pang in his chest when she closed her eyes, looking ready to cry. The smile on her face, though, proved she wanted to cry out of happiness.

She discreetly wiped her eyes and gave a tight smile, one hand gesturing to the table. "We can talk more over supper. The food is getting cold."

Sirius beamed and walked over to a seat, sinking down when he sat. Regulus followed example, still looking tired even after the long rest. The food spread warmth down to his toes and he took great pleasure in the experience. They ate swiftly, both minding their manners as they did. Being a noble had _some_ perks. It taught one to eat fast yet eloquently.

After he was done, Sirius looked down at the empty dishes and gave a firm nod. "Right. I'll clean the dishes."

Eileen nearly dropped the pan she was holding.

"You-You really don't have to do that." she stuttered out, flustered. Sirius dearly wanted to ask if anyone had ever done anything for her, but kept his mouth shut into an easy smile.

"Nonsense. You didn't have to cook for us either. It's only fair." seeing her waver, he continued. "Besides, I actually never really washed dishes before." with a house elf, he didn't need to. "So you'll actually be helping _me_ out if you could teach me how. I'll be learning something new today."

He grinned in satisfaction when he saw her shoulders slump at his words, defeat evident. She chuckled and shook her head. "My, aren't you an eager one." her eyes turned into melted chocolate. "Thank you."

"Anytime." He said cheerfully, deliberately acting like he didn't hear the extra warmth in her tone.

It didn't take long. The process was actually kind of easy, though he did fumble a few times which made Regulus guffaw every time. When he did, he splashed some soap in the younger boy's direction. Despite this, the boy just kept on sniggering much to Sirius's aggravation. Though his annoyance did lessen when Eileen also looked amused at his clumsy attempts.

After the dishes were washed, dried, and put away, the question of how to get home came up again for the Black. A cab magically appearing was highly unlikely, and floo network was out. He could ask Eileen if she could drive, but that went beyond tentative friendship or whatever they had going on right now.

Eileen, though, already had a solution.

"The Knight Bus?" Sirius questioned. Eileen nodded.

"It'll take you home." she bit her lip. "Though the price is a bit expensive..."

"It's fine." Sirius could already tell she was going to offer money she couldn't afford giving. "We have money, I swear."

Eileen frowned but still nodded her consent, much to Sirius's relief. "I can call it out with my wand." she looked at Regulus. "Do you have everything?"

"Yes Mrs. Snape." Regulus replied obediently. Sirius saw Eileen minutely wince.

"Please, call me Eileen."

Regulus raised an eyebrow, his eyes calculative as he stared at her. Before he could say something, Sirius interrupted.

"So, could we do this now? I mean, we really have to go I'm sorry to say."

And he _was_ sorry. In this small house that was nowhere as big as the Black's manor, he felt so much at ease with just Regulus and Eileen here with him. It was a new feeling.

Eileen nodded. "Let's go outside. We have to be near the sidewalk in order to do this."

The three ambled outside over the edge of the curb, the night air stinging cold. Sirius was glad he had put on his coat before coming outside. He was sure he would've froze to death if he hadn't.

The dark haired woman got her wand and pointed it out in front of her. Suddenly, a bus appeared instantly in front of them with a loud bang, the purple decker bus vibrating as if filled with unharnessed energy. The door opened, revealing a young man who grinned widely at them, showing off all his pearly whites.

"Hello gentlemen and gals. The names Anderson Shunpike and I am your conductor this evening." he narrowed his eyes at Eileen for a moment before his expression cleared up. "Ah! Miss Prince!" he leaped out of the bus and grabbed her hand to kiss it, eyes twinkling. "It's been a very long time."

"And to you as well." she answered, looking a bit amused. Sirius pondered over the last name Prince for a moment before his eyes widened. At that same moment, Regulus seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"Eileen Prince? _You're_ the Eileen Prince that's been wiped from the family tree?" Sirius blurted out. She gave a wry smile at his unintentional bluntness and took her hand away from Anderson.

"Yes, that is me." she sounded bitter when she admitted this. Her smile became more genuine though when Regulus tried to flounder out an apology. "It's alright. It happened a long time ago."

Before either could ask, Anderson butted in by literally dragging the boys away from her, talking nonstop.

"Now I recognize you little man. You look just like your father Orion Black, yup yup. I'm guessing you need a ride home. Well, going to Grimmauld is gonna cost you Eleven Sickles, but for fourteen you get chocolate, and for fifteen you get a water bottle and a toothbrush in the color of your choice..."

Sirius gave a pleading look to Eileen, who merely gave them a little wave as they were taken away. Sirius couldn't help but feel a little betrayed, especially when she had the audacity to watch and chuckle behind her hand while it happened.

Roughly pushed into a seat, the bus took off without any notice, leaving Sirius with a brief last look at Eileen who disappeared in a whirlwind of movement, her hand waving at them in farewell.

After a few minutes passed, he looked out the window of his seat, seeing the blurring colors of the city lights pass him. It was weird to know that he had probably walked those streets just a few days ago.

He glanced at his brother who was death clinging on to the seats, face incredibly pale at the insane speed the bus was going. He would've laughed at him if he wasn't also stuck in the same predicament as the younger boy. He grimaced and tried as hard as possible not to throw up.

And tried not to think about how much he had wanted to stay at Eileen's house.

He wondered briefly what her son was like. Maybe, if he was lucky enough to meet him, they could become friends.

Somewhere up in the sky, Time was laughing his pants off. Oh how irony knew how to bite a person back in the ass.

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**Please review on the way out.**


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